The Avatar's Legacy
by KindredVeggies
Summary: Sixteen years after the death of Avatar Korra, the world fell out of balance when a new Avatar was never born. Now, the moon, sun, earth, and wind spirits have been embodied on earth, making the four nations fall back into a period of peace and harmony. Though the world is at peace, how will it react when the biggest surprise of the century comes along: Another Avatar was born.
1. Book 1: Summer

Kai and Shang slowly sauntered down the street, Shang's hands in his pockets. They talked about frivolous things, "So you want to come over after school tomorrow?" Kai asked.

"Sure."

"Cool, I got a new ChiGame…"

"No way!"

"Yeahhhhh, my foster parents got me it."

"Sweeeet."

They came across a four way stop in their quiet village, Shang said goodbye and flew away on his air glider as Kai continued to walk. Kai was born a non-bender, whereas his best friend was pretty much a prodigy at airbending. "Shang could be a master if he wanted…" Kai muttered to himself. He was a block from home, the streetlights swayed, the sidewalks were piercingly quiet. Kai heard the growl of a SatoCycle in the distance, Kai raised an eyebrow and turned, four cyclists were heading his way. He stepped to the side of the road to let them pass, but as soon as they got to him they made a screeching halt. Kai's eyes widened, "U-Uhhhh, hi…"

"YOU! YOUR SHIRT!" One of the large thugs screamed.

Kai looked down at the flower shop shirt he was wearing, he knew exactly what they wanted.

Kai took off, running down the hilly valley, the thugs gaining ground by the second, his small white dog by his side, yipping in fear. Kai grimaced, "God damn mom and dad, cheating people out of money again," Suddenly an earth column shot up next to his leg, tugging on his pants slightly. "AHH! Shit shit…" His eyes wandered the landscape ahead for an escape route. The only thing in sight were the massive spirit wilds made by Avatar Korra a hundred years prior. If he could make it into the wilds, there was no way the thugs would follow. He kicked it into gear and sped towards the thick woods, flinging himself into the tangled brush.

The smaller of the two thugs skidded to a stop, "Ay man! What is we doin'? Shouldn't we go after him?" He looked to bigger thug, they both rode sleek Satocycles.

The big thug grinned menacingly, "Nah, the wilds will take care of him themselves… Let's head out!"

The thugs slowly made their way back towards the small village in the shadow of a large mountain, the village Kai called home. Kai continued to run until he reached almost complete darkness. He sat down to catch his breath. His eyes floated to the canopy above, he was alone, but not scared. See, Kai had been alone his whole life as an orphan until three years ago when he was adopted by some sneaky flower shop owners. He looked down at his shirt which wore the flower shop insignia and frowned, brushing dirt off of it. He let out a heavy sigh and stood up, plodding forwards, he couldn't tell where he had just come from. He groaned with exasperation and shuffled along, his puppy prancing alongside him, "You sure have a good attitude, Riishi." He muttered, a small smile playing on his lips.

Suddenly, something wrapped around his ankle, he let out a scream as he turned and saw a large spirit with spiked tentacles standing above him. The spirit whipped him to the side, hitting his back against a tree. Kai felt the air leave his lungs in one fatal swoop. His vision blacked out and he felt himself slip.

Kai's eyes slowly opened, night had fallen and strange noises surrounded him. He sat up and gasped, "Oh god…." He grumbled. He slowly stood up, quickly regretting his decision. He let out a cry, holding his back as he fell to his knees. "Stupid spirit." He felt a lump in his throat and his eyes widened as he realized he didn't see Riishi, "Riishi!" He called. No reply. He slowly made his way to his feet, clinging to the tree beside him, continuing to call out her name, but to no avail. He felt tears well up in his eyes, he had been Riishi's companion since he was born. As he wandered the forest he began to hear something in the distance, hoping it would lead him to Riishi, he quickened his pace.

Kai could see a faint glow on top of the ravine he had been stuck in. He slowly began to climb, cringing with pain with every step and pull. He finally peeked over the ridge, his eyes widening. A hooded figure danced around a fire, flames flying from their fingertips and bare toes as they demonstrated ancient looking firebending moves. Kai was caught in a trance, watching the skilled bender dance about, their moves being celebrated by surrounding spirits. Kai felt his foot begin to slip. He let out a small gasp as he slid down. The drum beat and the bender suddenly stopped all movement, Kai peeked his head back up to get a view of what happened, his view was now blocked by something. Tree stump? No. Rock? No. Legs? Feet?! His eyes shot wide opened as he looked straight into the eyes of the hooded figure, they burned like an inferno. He yelped and turned letting himself fall back down the ravine, to his surprise the hooded figure followed, he let out a scream as he sprinted off into the woods, the figure following closely, "I'm sorry I was watching you!" Kai pleaded, "I promise i didn't mean anything by it!" Tears flew off his face into the darkness behind him. The figure closed in on him, grabbing his arm, causing him to turn around and trip back onto his butt. He looked up at the figure, fear in his eyes and tears streaming down his cheeks, "L-Listen! I'm sorry, okay?! Do you understand me?!" He trembled, shoving clammy hands into his pockets, throwing money at the figure, "Take my money, anything you want!" The figure slowly bend down and put a burning hot hand on his shoulder, but Kai was too shocked to move, he felt a calming warmth rush through his body and soul.

The hooded figure slid their hand off of his shoulder and stood up straight, slowly reaching up and removing their hood, "Will you just calm down?" Curly, gold hair bounced down to her shoulders, she looked him up and down. "This yours?" She shoved her hand into her cloak and pulled out the small, white pup, "She's sweet." The girl said emotionlessly. She handed Kai the dog, "Get up." She demanded, she had such power in her voice, Kai shot right up to his feet. His back spasmed and he let out a howl of pain, almost dropping Riishi. The girl continued to stare, not even flinching at his cry of pain, "Follow me." She said, pulling her hood up over her head.

Kai looked down at Riishi, who let out a bark of reassurance. He followed her closely, making sure not to get lost… again. "So, what's your name? I'm Kai." He said, walking next to her, keeping up the brisk pace, grimacing with pain.

She glanced at him and pursed her lips, "Nice to meet you Kai."

Kai glanced back and forth, "So… My dogs name is Riishi… What's your name?"

She patted the dog on the head, "Nice to meet you Riishi." she mumbled.

Kai narrowed his eyes and sighed, "Okay then…." Soon, a small house came into sight, it was positioned right on a cliff, a small creek running alongside it the trickling off the cliff. The water was crystal clear and had a ghoulish blue glow. She made her way up the stairs and slid open the door, "Liuka, Rohan!" She called, she looked back, "Come in." She said, the faintest emotion appearing on her face. Kai nodded and walked in, it was a small shop full of herbs on one wall and musical instruments on the other.

An elderly couple walked out from inside the back room, "Ulka, who is this young man?" the woman asked, she had silver, white hair and was dressed in full water tribe garb. The man standing next to her was dressed like a normal shop keeper, in dark red robes. He had a long Fu Man chu.

Ulka looked back at Kai and patted his head, "He was watching me firebend in the wilds."

Liuka took a step forwards, "Firebend?" she growled, shooting an angry glance at Ulka. "Well, if he already saw you do _that_ , I should get to know him…. What's your name?"

"Kai." He said, bowing in respect.

"Nice to meet you Kai."


	2. Book 1: Revelations

A small grunt escaped Kai's lips as he sat on the floor next to the table. Liuka looked at the boy with intrigue as his small dog curled up beside him. Her old, wrinkled hands gripped a ladle as she scooped traditional water tribe grub out of a large pot that sat over a fire in the back of her shop. The small hut felt strange, it was charged with a calming energy that made Kai's muscles relax. He took in a deep breath and opened his dark brown eyes to look at the girl who sat across the table from him. Her eyes bore into his making him shift on the small cushion he rested on. breaking their gaze, he looked to his small pup that laid beside him, "Do you have anything for Riishi?" he asked, looking up at the girl.

Ulka raised an eyebrow, "Why you asking me?" She asked hotly, her head tilting.

An old man shuffled out from a corner in which he had been sitting, tweaking an old tsungi horn, "Oh, Ulka, be kind to this boy." He smiled, his eyes sparkling with delight, "Now, young man, tell me, are you a bender?" The old man sat at the head of the rectangular table, the long sleeves of his brown robe dragging on the table top as he rested his creaky elbows.

Kai's shaggy, brown locks were brushed out of his eyes by his skinny fingers, "Uhm, no sir. I was born a non-bender, so I felt pretty helpless when I was lost in the spirit wilds… Speaking of that… How do you guys live in the wilds? Are the spirits not angry?"

The old man chuckled, "Oh ho ho! No, my boy. The old saying goes like this: 'Give them gold they return with diamonds, give them iron they return with the same, give them coal they return with dirt.'" He smiled as the teen cracked a nervous smile back. "In other words, 'Don't be an ass and they'll return the favor'!" The old man let out a fit of wheezing laughter while Ulka rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips.

"Oh, Rohan! Quit your fooling about with this boy, he doesn't want to hear your old breath blowing about nothing!" Liuka exclaimed as she walked in with bowls of stewed sea prunes, gently setting them down on the table with soft ' _clink_ 's.

Rohan looked over to Kai and smiled, "Don't feel bad about being a non-bender, boy, because I am just the same! My father was a famous air bender, he was the mentor of Avatar Korra, and a pupil of Avatar Aang. So, he felt it was his duty to restore the world's air bender population, so my three older siblings were airbenders and I, thankfully, was not. So much pressure was taken off of me, I no longer had to look to the future before I did anything, I could live freely without worrying if I was going to put the airbenders into extinction again." Rohan, took a scoop of his sea prunes and blew on them gently, "Sometimes being normal is the best thing that could happen to somebody."

Kai smiled and took a scoop of the ominous stew, "So… What is this?"

Ulka eyed him down and chewed viciously on a piece of prune, "Stewed sea prunes, duh."

Kai frowned and sat back a little bit, "Sorry, I didn't know." Ulka shrugged and continued to gobble down her food. Kai brought the brackish scented stew to his nose and slowly placed the spoon behind his lips, gingerly chewing on the strange texture. His eye twitched with disgust as the taste of fermented sea filled his mouth. His nostrils flaring, he swallowed the fishy soup. "Blegh…" He shuddered. He slid the bowl off the table dropping it on the floor next to him for Riishi. There were no sounds of lapping or sniffing, making him look down with alarm. "Riishi! Where is she?" He exclaimed.

Ulka snorted, "You lost your dog _again_?"

Kai looked at her helplessly, "She's never acted like this before, she never leaves my side." He stood up, whipping his head around frantically. "Riishi!" He called, "Come here, Riishi!" He looked to the curtain that covered the doorway to a room in the back. "Riishi!" Without thinking, he barged behind the curtain, his jaw dropping at the sight. There was a small courtyard right in the middle of the house, vines with pink flowers climbed up the walls grasping onto the branches of small japanese maple trees. In the center, a pool swirled lazily in a perfect circle, two small streams feeding into it front beneath the house's foundation, the water glowing a ghoulish blue. "Beautiful." Kai whispered to himself.

"Thank you, young man!" Kai jumped as Liuka's voice tore through his trance, in her arm, Riishi was tucked between her arm and breast, "There you go!" Liuka chimed, letting the dog down to run to its owner, but Riishi had other plans, she scampered over to the glowing pool and began to walk into the water becoming fully submerged. Kai gasped and lunged forwards to grab her but was quickly cut off by Liuka's old arm slamming across his chest, "Wait." She said. Riishi's body began to glow a faint white, her body morphing into a kite-like structure beneath the water. She began to swim around and around, her body fully transformed into the small kite-like form that glowed white and blue. "You… It can't be…" Liuka said covering her mouth, "Ulka! Ulka come here!" She called, slightly panicked.

Ulka rushed into the room, pushing Kai aside and looking to the water, "What is it-? What the hell!?" She yelled, shocked, "Is that- Is that-?"

"Raava." Liuka said, her eyes gaping wide. The two females turned to stare at Kai, "Kai… You are- are-." Liuka stammered.

"Holy shit. You're the Avatar." Ulka said, her face devoid of color. "There wasn't supposed to be another one after Avatar Korra. Korra had cut off all lines of communication with the past Avatars, damn… I never thought this would happen… What are we supposed to do, Liuka?" Ulka asked, puzzled, crossing her arms over her chest and placing her hand in her chin.

Liuka closed her eyes and sighed, calming down, "First… We must explain everything that is going on."

The three sat next to the pond, Kai's shocked eyes following the spirit that swirled about in the water gracefully. "Kai, I am the Sun." Ulka said, her eyes focusing on his, "We didn't think there was going to be another Avatar, so to keep the world balanced, the spirit world decided to send down the five most powerful spirits in the universe to watch over the interactions of humans with spirits."

Liuka took in a deep breath, "Ulka contains one of these spirits, the sun. Ulka is most definitely the strongest fire and lava bender on this planet." Ulka's stare remained unwavering into Kai's eyes, he felt a deep feeling of fear, something building up within his soul. He felt the dread tearing at his stomach, this girl, who seemed to be the same age as him, contained immense powers he couldn't even begin to comprehend.

Ulka sighed and extended her legs, leaning back on her hands, "I, myself, am not the spirit, I just hold the spirit inside me, his name is Roj. All of the other four are exactly the same, they hold the spirits of the Moon, Earth, Wind, and Ocean within them."

Kai's eyes widened and his mouth gaped with shock, "So… How do you know I'm the Avatar? Why me? Can't it just be that Raava likes the food I give her or something? There has to be a mistake. Trust me, I'm normal, I'm just normal."

Liuka stood up and held her hand out to the water, bending and orb of the glowing water into the air, concealing Raava into a bubble, "There has been no mistake, Avatar, Raava is a smart spirit and knows who to choose, and you are obviously the one she wishes to be with. You are special and obviously destiny has brought you here to find this out now. How old are you, Avatar?"

Kai flinched at the word _Avatar_ , "I'm 15, and please call me Kai."

Liuka pursed her lips with displeasure, "Alright, _Kai_ , it is official that you must be fused with Raava. You will head towards the North Pole tomorrow by sunrise."

"What?!" Kai screamed in shock, "N-NO! I have to help my parents run their flower shop and go to school! I can't be the Avatar, find someone else who doesn't already have a life!" He ranted, his face turning red before storming out, "Why me?" he grumbled as he briskly walked out of the shop.

Ulka looked to Liuka who nodded, Ulka running out behind Kai. Once she caught up to him, she gripped his shoulder, spinning him around. "What?! I don't want this, Ulka! I didn't ask for this responsibility!"

Ulka raised an eyebrow before snorting smoke from her nostrils, "You think _I_ asked for this?!" She let go of his shoulder and clenched her teeth with aggravation, "Listen, dude, I'm sixteen, You think when I discovered I was the sun three years ago that I asked to have that sort of responsibility as a 13 year old?! You think Avatar Aang complained when he knew he had to kill the Fire Lord at age 12? (He actually kinda did sooooo. ANYWHO, back to the story) You are essential to the balance of this world, you becoming Avatar can set the world into complete peace oncxe again and we can all live in harmony, don't you want that? Can't you make thge sacrifice for the greater good? I have. I'm 16 years old and my life is one of modesty."

Kai looked down and sighed, "This is going to take a lot of time to get used to." He said shakily.

Ulka nodded, "Sure it will, but it will be worth it. You will be stronger than ever… Plus, don't you want to know what it feels like to be a bender?" She added with a wink.

Kai shrugged and smiled, "I guess." He felt a knot in his throat, "Can-." He stopped and looked down, blush on his cheeks. "Can we go to say goodbye to my parents and tell them what's happening?"

"I don't see why not." Ulka commented dryly, she turned and began to walk away, her black kimono dragging on the ground, the red ribbon wrapped around the middle in a sloppy bow sitting on the small of her back. Her blonde curls reached all the way down to her butt, swaying with every step. There were slits up the side, revealing her wrapped pelvis and thighs. The two finally made it back to the small shop, Ulka motioning silently to Kai to follow her around to the back. They came across a stable where an extremely over sized cheetah laid with its back to them, its lizard-like tail swayed back and forths while scales ridged its back. "Mooshi!" Ulka called. The large cheetah stood, it's legs extending bringing it to stand over Kai Majestically.

Kai stumbled back and fell on his butt, "W-What is that?!" He exclaimed.

Ulka laughed and stroked her pet's large face, "My pet bearded cheetah lizard!" Mooshi stuck out his tongue and licked up her cheek. "We'll take him to your village!" Ulka slung herself atop of hi ridged back, sitting on a deep red saddle. "Well, take my hand!" Ulka exclaimed, snatching Kai's hand, slinging his skinny body up behind her onto the saddle, "Hold on tight!" She chimed, "Forth, Mooshi!" The animal took off at an insane speed, tearing through the spirits wilds, trees whirling past, making Kai flinch with every gust of wind that whipped his head. "This boy can go up to 180 miles per hour! He's only going 70 right now, this is his endurance speed!" The bold girl yelled to him. They burst out of the thick wilds and into a clearing that felt so familiar to Kai.


	3. Book 1: Absent Goodbyes

The field smelled like home, "My village is right over that hill!" He said, pointing ahead. They got there in record time, screaming down the street at speeds people only saw SatoCycles reach. Mooshi skidded to a halt in front of the small flower shop that held his adoptive parents. "Prepare yourself," Kai said, pursing his lips, his hair blown back by the wind in a wild display.

Ulka raised her eyebrows before following him inside, "Ohhh hello, Kai, darling!" His mother cried out. The woman had a perfect hourglass figure, her breasts extremely prominent in her v-neck shop shirt. Dancing across the floor, she approached the boy and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, "What can I do for your friend, here?" She asked, her dark brown eyes sparkling with interest, a hair falling seductively onto her forehead. Kai squirmed out from under her arm and looked at her with tears welling up in his eyes, the two were considerably taller than Ulka, who only stood at 5 feet even. The woman's face filled with worry as she placed both her hands on Kai's shoulders, "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Kai shook his head and gasped for air, "I-I'm…"

"You..? You're what?" She asked nervously.

Suddenly a large man stormed through the front door, carrying a wheelbarrow full of flowers, "What's going on here?" He grumbled, the man was a brute, his body strapped with muscles.

"I'm the Avatar." Kai said, slowly looking up to his mother, "And I have to leave today."

His mother's eyes widened, "Oh my…" She looked to Ulka and tilted her head, "How are you so sure?" She asked, puzzled as Kai's father let out a disapproving scoff.

Ulka stared at the woman emotionless, "His dog was the spirit of Raava, we must go fuse him at the North Pole. The Moon lives up there and I'm the Sun so we need both of us to fuse Raava into him."

Kai's mother stared, completely lost. "Uhhh, okay."

Kai's father stood, his arms crossed, "So, you'll become famous? That will bring fame to our shop. I knew I picked a lucky one at the orphanage! You go out there and bring honor to our family business." The man said, patting his son's shoulder.

Kai's mother nodded in approval, "Be safe, I guess. I love you, son." She said, kissing his forehead. The two walked to the back, Kai's mother turning and giving Ulka a flirty wink, "Make sure you two stay out of trouble~!" she sang, closing the door.

Ulka looked uncomfortably at Kai, "Well, they're very open."

"They just don't take me seriously. They don't care about me like that, my mother tries but she really doesn't feel the love she says she does. It's all a little game for her to play…. And my father? At least he's open about not loving me." Kai looked down at his shirt that wore the shop's insignia as he left the sweet scented air into the street. "I should tell my friends."

"No." Ulka said sternly, "That will take forever. Let's go." Kai opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by a death stare from Ulka's yellow eyes. "Let's go." She repeated, Kai complying. They jumped back onto Mooshi's back and sped off back to the wilds, Kai not looking back.

The sun slowly rose over the horizon, Kai's friend Shang woke up from the bed mat he slept on sitting like a nomad. Shang stretched his arms and felt the warm light from his paper window spill over his face. He scratched his head, tousling his shoulder-length hair, "Ugh, Mom." He groaned, "Moooom!" He stood up and took wobbly steps to his small kitchen, "Hm?" A small paper laid on the table, _Make sure you grab your lunch! Love, Mom._ "She went to work early?" He looked at the clock, his stomach dropped, "No… She went to work on time… SHIT!" Shang scrambled to his room, his socks slipping on the bamboo floors sending his legs failing. He wriggled into burgundy jeans and a yellow T-shirt, he sprinted out into the moist, summer morning, his sneakers squeaking on the wet grass. He flipped open his glider and soared into the air, searching on the dirt paths for Kai. He landed in the usual spot he met his friend, who every morning would wave from a block away and jog to him, his school pack flopping up and down on his back. Shang glanced around, Kai's waving hand and bright smile were nowhere to be seen. Concern krept in, making Shang's palms sweat.

The sign on the small flower shop swung back and forth gently in the lukewarm breeze as Shang stepped inside the crisp air of the shop. "Hello? Kai?!" Shang called out. Kai's father shoved the door open from the back, letting out a grunt as he saw the teen, "Hello, is Kai here?"

Kai's father frowned and gared at the boy, looking him up and down, "No. Why are you here?"

Shang narrowed his eyes, "For Kai, obviously." He snapped in his usual sassy tone.

" _Obviously_." The man hissed, "Listen, kid, I've never liked you hanging around my son. My son, doesn't need you anymore, he's the Avatar."

Shang's eyes widened and he shook his head, "What?! What are you talking about, you crazy old man?" Shang was always a nice boy, much more light-hearted than Kai who was always stubborn and a little too serious for most other people in their grade.

The man scoffed, his dark black eyes squinting as he grinned, "Back when you were both in the orphanage, Kai was sad and angry, now he's a happy young man, going on to pursue his future. You hanging around him keeps dragging him into his past at the orphanage. Now, get out, I have a press conference in an hour."

"Press conference? Right. You're only supporting him because it's good for your popularity! You don't give a shit about Kai's future." Shang growled, feeling his blood begin to boil. He wasn't used to being so angry, he always tried to keep mellow like his airbender ancestors.

Kai's father let out a snort, "Sure, kid, you're what? Fifteen? You don't understand the complexities of running a business, like I said, get out."

Shang pulled his glider out, slinking towards the door, as he gripped the door handle he took in a deep breath, "Where is he?" Shang asked, his green eyes staring dagger at Kai's father.

"Why should I tell you?" The man asked, looking at him with bemusement.

"Because if you don't I will blow your shop to bits, my wind will slice through your flowers like butter. Don't mess with me, I am far more powerful than you, I don't care what you're interests are in Kai because the truth is, he enjoys being with me because I do remind him of those times, those times before he was entrapped by a narcissist like you!" He yelled, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink, his mismatched eyes sparkling with tears of rage.

Kai's father's eye twitched in dismay, "He's heading up to the North Pole with some girl, she said he was the Avatar and they need to fuse him with a dog or some shit. I have no idea what any of that means, so good luck, kid." The man said, monotone. He walked towards the back, his hand gripping the door handle, "Oh, and if you don't find him, don't come crawling back for more information from me, I never want to see you in my shop again." The door swung open and slammed, leaving Shang in silence to contemplate what his next move was.

Shang sprinted outside with a gust of wind, he flipped open his glider and soared into the air. All he had was his backpack and a pair of gym clothes. He let the winds take him north, his gaze scanning the paths outside of his village for his best friend and the girl who took him away.


	4. Book 1: The Bandwagon

The air began to heat up as the sun rose higher into the sky, Ulka's eyes scanned the area vigilantly, looking for any suspicious signs of bandits or rabid dogs. Kai walked with his shoulders slumped over, wiping sweat off his brow with his lanky forearm, "How much longer are we going today?" Kai asked, frowning, he had always taken the electric tram to anywhere he needed to be, it was fast and efficient. Technology had advanced to become cleaner and more common among everyone, many people had ChiWatches, which hovered a screen above a small platform one could strap around their wrists. Kai's was the old version and glitched more than 90% of the time. "We've been walking for like… Hours."

Ulka raised her eyebrows and stopped, "Wowwwww, are you serious?" Her finger flicked the center of Kai's forehead. Ulka had grown up in a home that lived in the way of Avatar Aang's times. She never had electricity, using her bending for virtually everything. "We've been walking for about 20 minutes. Hmph, you really were born an earth bender, rocks-for-brains." She grumbled to herself, giving Kai a mischievous grin.

Kai's cheeks turned red as he looked down, "Well… It felt longer than that… Wait, what do you mean 'born an earth bender'?"

Ulka stopped and sighed, "I guess they really don't teach about the Avatar anymore in school, huh?" Ulka pulled Mooshi to the side of the road and sat on a small log, leaning back, kicking her shoes off while stretching her arms. "So, let me tell you a story, young man!" Ulka mocked, acting like an old man. "Once upon a time, there was an Avatar named Avatar Roku, he was an extremely powerful firebender, since that was his birth-element. He was a very good friend of mine, well, technically the Sun, but whatever. Anyways, after Avatar Roku there was an Avatar named Avatar Aang, he was the last airbender or some shit, but that's not a big deal. The point is he was born an airbender, Korra was born a… Say it with me…"

"Waterbender." They both said.

"Riiiight!" Ulka chimed, caustic sarcasm in her voice, "So, that means you were born an earthbender. See, Kai, The Avatar cycle must go full circle, fire, air, water, earth, then it begins all over again. Once you're fused with Raava, the world won't need me anymore, they'll have an Avatar. This way, I'll die and my soul will go back to the spirit world and once all the Superior Spirits are back to the Spirit World, complete harmony will be solidified." A smile spread across her face, "I'm ready to die for that to happen."

Kai's face went pale, "D-Die?! What the hell are you talking about? You can't just die after I become fused, who will teach me bending?"

Ulka's shoulders shrugged, "I dunno, you'll find masters and what-not." She stood at stretched her arms straight up, letting out a loud yawn, "Alright, that's enough of a break! Let's get a move-on, Rocky!" She slid her feet back into her wooden sandals. Mooshi stretched and continued to walk as well, being followed by Kai. About an hour passed, Ulka and Kai continued to talk about aimless things, like school and bending techniques, "You wanna see something cool?" Ulka asked, letting out a snicker. Kai shrugged with approval as he watched her prance up ahead, she made three different fireballs of different colors before swirling them into the shape of a dragon, "Roooooooooarrrr!" She screamed, "RUN KAI RUNNN! MUAHAHAHAAA!" The dragon flew towards him, Ulka laughing as Kai squealed at her to stop, her little fire dragon followed him in circles around Mooshi who growled and whined with discontent.

Ulka's yellow eyes teared up as she let the fire dragon fizzle out, Kai glaring at her. "I'm tired as it is, Ulka, that's not funny/" He muttered, walking forwards, wiping the sweat off his brow.

Ulka's feet felt a vibration from above them, making her head snap upwards at the small cliff above the path, "Kai…" She said softly.

Kai put his hands on his hips and stared at her skeptically, "What now?" He asked raising his brown eyebrows.

"MOVE, KAI!" Ulka yelled, alarmed. Fire burst out of her feet, sending her flying into him, pushing him away from the men who slid down the cliff, suddenly wrapping Ulka's ankles in metal chains, pulling her back. Her legs scraped on the dirt path, making her grunt. "Metalbenders…' She uttered under her breath.

"What was that?" One of the bandits asked, pulling her body close to his, "Hmmmm, how old are you, girl? Not that it matters, ha!" The man scoffed.

Kai sat up and watched Ulka be grabbed by the two men, her arms being held behind her. "Ulka!" He called, standing up, but being immediately knocked back by a boulder.

"Shaddup kid!" The other grunt squealed, he looked back to Ulka and grinned, revealing crooked teeth, "Now, girl, why don't you come on a walk with us?"

"How about not?" Ulka said, a huge grin spreading from ear to ear, she took a deep breath in, making her chest puff out to twice its size, she opened her mouth wide, releasing an enormous flame none of the likes Kai had ever seen. The men were blown back, hitting the rock wall behind them with a loud, _"THWACK"._ Ulka kicked her shoes off and slammed her heel into the ground, making it crack, she squatted and pulled her arms up, her muscles flexing as lava began to rise from out of the ground like water from a spring, it quickly over flowed making a large wave, taller than both of the men combined. She made a dome around them and began to close it in.

Kai quickly pushed himself up and stumbled towards Ulka, "W-Wait! Ulka! You can't just… just... "

"Kill them? Of course I can, watch." She closed the dome in around them.

"Ulka! Wait, we'll just call the police! Just wait a second!"

"Should we call the police when the only hope of continuing the line of Avatars is killed?" Kai stood silently and shook nervously, "I didn't think so." Her hand squeezed into a fist, the ball of lava compressing. "Let's go." She said, turning and beginning to walk again.

Kai felt sweat drip down both sides of his face, "Ulka… Why didn't you think first?! What is wrong with you?! God, they barely did anything!" He cried out to her, his body trembling and his stomach churning. _I feel like I'm gonna be sick. Holy shit, what have I gotten myself into… I should've just let those thugs beat me up, I should've never gone into the spirit wilds. Spirits are crazy…_ He thought to himself as he felt his breakfast coming back up.

Ulka continued to walk, "They would've tried to kill you and rape me. I am the Sun, spirit of wrath and raw truth, if you want clemency and white lies, go find the Wind Spirit."

Shang flew above, the sweat from his brow rolling back into his hairline, his hair was pulled into a small ponytail, the purple streak in his hair flowing into a mess with his light-brown locks. "Kai… Where are you?" He whispered to himself, a knot forming in his throat. _Why would he have just left without saying goodbye? I can't believe him…_ Shang shook his head, _Ugh, whatever it's not likes he's my girlfriend or something… It's whatever._ He reassured himself, the knot in his throat remained, causing his eyes to tear up. Pursing his lips and furrowing his brow, a tear fell from his one brown and green eye. He decided to land in order to pull himself together, it was hard to concentrate on airbending a glider while your emotions are spazzing out. A puff of dust from the path swirled around his feet as he landed with grace. He shoved his glider between his school bag and his bag, keeping it out of the way for now. As he began his journey on foot, something caught his eye that seemed extremely abnormal, a perfect sphere of rock in front of a crevice that, with further inspection, seemed to go down forever. Shang stood in front of the weird rock and raised his eyebrows, pulling his staff out, smacking the rock. It made a hollow _thunk_ followed by some shuffling then frantic knocking. "Wh-What the hell?!" Shang screamed in horror, stumbling back a bit.

"Help! Help us!" Two separate voices screamed from inside.

Shang's eyes widened, "Oh.. Okay! Hold on! I'll get you out!" _Judging by the size of the sphere, the two men must have been squeezed inside somehow._ Shang thought, rubbing his chin. "Hmmm… Okay, here goes nothin'!" He exclaimed, stepping back. He reeled back his staff swinging it around like a bat, when it hit the sphere shock waves went up Shang's arms making his bones tingle. "Heheheh." He giggled at the sensation, "Okay, uhhh… I could try and air-slice it. I've only done that to my sandwiches though, so I dunno about rock."

"Hey! Are you still there?! Hurry up!" A voice called, making Shang snap out of it.

"Right! Take two; AIRBENDING SLICE!" He formed his hands into tight fists around his staff and sent a strong blade of wind into the rock, creating a large gash in the side, "WOOOOO!" He cheered, running up to the rock and kicking it with both of his feet, his feet breaking through with ease, kicking one of the men in the face. The man groaned before pushing Shang off of him and onto the ground.

Both of the men were dark gray with soot, they crawled out, coughing and wheezing, "Thanks, kid." The older one said. He stood and pulled up his comrade, "We were trapped in there by this crazy gold-haired chick, I've never seen anybody with that color of hair, she was one loony girl."

Shang's eyes widened, "Ohhhhh shoot!" He screamed in their faces, a huge smile on his face, "Was there a guy with her, really skinny, kinda sad looking with shaggy hair to like here… Or about here.. Maybe here.. I dunno, but kinda like that, ya' feel?"

The men looked at each other and shrugged, the younger one replying, "Yeah I guess."

"Sweet! Where'd they go?" Shang asked, his wide, white-toothed grin making his eyes crinkle.

The men looked at each other again, the older one replying, "Down the path this way, watch yourself, kid." The man said, they began to walk the opposite way, Shang taking his path towards his friend. "Hold on, hold on!" The man said, catching back up to Shang, "You forgot this!" The man handed him his glider, grabbing his wrist and setting it in his hand, "It seems important." He said, winking and running back off to his partner.

Shang smiled kindly and waved, "Yes it is! Thank you!" He ran off down the path around a bend, straining his eyes to see as far ahead as possible, he sped over a hill skidding to a stop to look out ahead of him, the path winding through an open valley. Two small specks in the distance walked the path with a creature, making Shang's heart jump, "Kai." He said to himself, unable to hold back his pure euphoria, "Kai!" He called out, laughter shaking his voice. He opened his glider and soared over the field, grass whizzing by beneath him. Kai's skinny figure became more and more defined as he approached, "Kai!" Shang called again, landing behind him and sprinting at full speed towards him, "Hey! Heyyyyy!" He waved his hand frantically.

Kai turned around to see what the ruckus was, but he could already tell by the raspy voice. "Shang…" He whispered, his eyes wide with shock and his cheeks pink with blush as he felt Ulka's searing stare on him. "You found me- UGH!" He felt the wind knocked out of him and Shang's tight embrace sent him straight onto his back. "Shang, c'mon, get up." He squeaked.

Shang held onto him tightly and sat up, straddling the teen's skinny stomach, "You left me and didn't say goodbye!" He accused, shoving his finger into Kai's face, which was now beet red.

"I-I'm sorry." He said softly, looking away shyly, he didn't like human contact, whereas his best friend always insisted on hugging and playing around, the two were truly opposites, like air and earth.

"Hmph… Apology accepted I guess," Shang said and he stood up, brushing himself off. He grabbed Kai by the hand and pulled him to his feet with ease, Shang was a year older than Kai and considerably taller and stronger than him, standing at 5'8 where Kai only stood at 5'4. Shang was very lean and fit, making him light yet able. Kai, on the other hand, was skinny and weak, not much muscle mass to show for, which always made him self-conscious around Shang, who the girls always seemed to like more.

Ulka stood with her arms crossed and her eyes burning with anger, "Who are you?" She asked, looking him up and down, her arms were thin and muscular like the rest of her tanned body.

Shang smiled and held out his hand, "I'm Shang, Kai's best friend… Or so I thought." He said, staring at Kai seriously until Kai shifted with discomfort. "Haha! Just kidding, I am, in fact, his best friend."

Ulka stared, unamused, "I'm Ulka, the Sun." She clasped her boiling hot hand into Shang's, making him yelp and pull back, roughly shaking it out, "Nice to meet you, Shang," She stepped forward and rolled up her sleeves, "But you have to leave, we are on a very important mission that is important for the future of this universe."

Shang shrugged, "Cool! I'll help!"

Ulka's eyes widened at the word 'help', "No, actually, you won't, I'm all the help he needs, you will only be a hindrance, a weakling like you can do nothing but hold us back." She spat.

Shang's eyebrow twitched, "Yo, what's your issue?" He asked, stepping forwards as well.

Kai twiddled his thumbs nervously and picked at his thumbnail, "W-Wait! Ulka, can I talk to you for a second? Please?" He said, pulling her off to the side as Shang stayed back with Mooshi who stood defensively between him and Ulka. "Ulka, please let him come with us, he knows how to fight and he can help me emotionally-."

Ulka scoffed, "Help you emotionally?"

"Y-Yes! I have nervous issues and he helps me… Plus he's an airbender, a strong one at that. He has skills and can help. I promise, he won't be a hindrance, if anything he'll add to our group, please, Ulka." He said, his voice shaking and his breath quickening. "I-I won't go without him!"

Ulka rolled her eyes and shrugged, "Whatever, as long as he's a good bender that's all that matters to me." She turned and walked up to Shang, a grin on her face, "Welcome to Team Avatar, Shang!" She said patting his back, sending him stumbling, "Hopefully you don't screw this up for us!"

Shang laughed and tousled Ulka's hair causing her blonde curls to ruffle up, "Sure thing!" He exclaimed, giggling.

Ulka stared at him with disbelief as she fixed her hair, her face morphing into what seemed like one of slight amusement, she let out a huff of laughter and began to walk, "Maybe he won't be so bad after all." She said, winking at Kai, beginning to walk ahead as the sun set over the valley. The three settled down on the edge of the woods, sleeping beneath the canopy of a large oak tree.

Once Ulka was fast asleep, Kai began to explain everything to Shang from Riishi actually being Raava to his father being an asshole, which coincidentally, both of them already knew. "So that little dog you've had forever is the spirit of all that's good? Holy shit, dude." Shang sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Where is she anyways?"

Kai opened his bag and peeked inside, "In here, she's been very calm ever since we went to the spirit wilds and found Rohan, Liuka, and Ulka." He felt his chin begin to quiver, "I have a lot of responsibility now." He whispered, looking affectionately at his dog.

Shang wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulder, "Listen, you've been through so much. You beat anxiety, you beat the orphanage, you overcame your crazy parents! This? Ugh, this is nothing, man. Everything is going to be in your favor from now on, it won't be easy, but people will finally respect you for how strong you are. Now, _I've_ always known you're strong, you're the strongest guy I know!" He exclaimed, sliding his arm off of Kai's shoulder, "You're going to be the greatest Avatar yet, Kai, I can just tell." He said softly, "Now, go to sleep, Avatar Kai! I need my beauty rest." He said as he sprawled out beneath the tree, closing his eyes.

Kai laid out as well, holding his small dog against his chest, feeling her gentle breathing going along with his. He took in a deep breath, "I'm going to be okay."


	5. Book 1: Gravel Streets, Broken Houses

The sun poured light over the tired travelers, all of which had large bags under their eyes, "It's been a really long time since I've had to sleep outside." Ulka croaked with a yawn.

Shang frowned, "I've never slept outside in my life, let alone on the ground, beneath a tree with _fucking spiDERS IN MY HAIR_!" He roared with outrage, running his hands through his shoulder-length hair, moaning with discontent.

Kai watched the two converse, a smile on his lips, _This is way better than expected_. He thought to himself, warmth filling up his stomach, "Maybe we should try to find a village to sleep in tonight, I'm sure someone would let us stay with them or we could at least try and bargain up a motel."

Shang nodded with approval, "Let me see if there's a village around here," He said, putting his wrist up to his face, tapping where his ChiWatch usually sits, but finding nothing but flesh, "Huh? Wahhhhh?!" He exclaimed, looking on his other wrist and around his body, pulling his bag of and shuffling through, "My ChiWatch! It's gone! How did I-? Oh shit." He grumbled, falling back onto his butt and covering his eyes, "I'm such an idiot." He groaned.

Kai looked at Ulka then shrugged, "What happened Shang?" He asked, truly puzzled.

"Those stupid guys I helped out of the rock bubble took my watch! Screw those guys! I helped him and he stole my damned watch, what an ass!" He ranted, wrapping his arms around his knees and pulling them to his chest.

Ulka's eyes widened, "Rock bubble?" She glanced over at Kai, a wide, triumphant grin spreading across her face, "Betcha wish they were dead, huh?" She asked smugly, her eyes never leaving Kai, his cheeks flushing red.

Shang stood up with zest, "YES I DO!" He cried out, "I knew he wasn't just being nice and giving me back my staff, he just had to steal my watch. Hmph, what a piece of trash."

Ulka nodded with approval, "Well, now you've learned your lesson, I should've closed the bubble all the way."

Kai's eyes squinted as he stared at Ulka, "You mean you knew they didn't die and you just decided not to tell me?"

Ulka shrugged, "Yup, I wanted to see how you handled it. You were alright, I guess." Kai felt rage boil up inside of him, he lunged forwards to grab Ulka's collar, but Ulka easily snatched his hand, "Calm yourself, Avatar." She said , staring into his dark chocolate eyes.

"How can I when you're so infuriating?! Why do you purposely make me angry and create problems?! Are you just testing me?! Maybe if you get to know me, you won't have to test me, just talk to me, that should be enough! You've only known me for three days and you're already 'testing' me?!" He pulled his arm away.

Ulka shrugged, "Maybe you should chill." Her concise words made Kai even angrier. She turned and walked down the path once again, the other two following, "But this issue is beside the point, I have a map, so we should be alright." She reached into her bag that laid across her body and unfolded the map of the surrounding area. "There should be a town called Lishi Village, it's pretty small it seems like. So it must be a good place to stay the night," she decided, folding the map and shoving it into her bag.

Riishi popped her head out of Kai's bag and looked at him with concerned eyes, "I'm okay, Riishi." He said, patting her head lovingly.

Shang watched Kai walk ahead of him, silence engulfing the group. Shang's looked on with concern, Kai was so emotionally fragile, he didn't want his friend to get hurt.

As tensions simmered down and Shang began to talk up the group again, all feelings becoming neutral, "We should be approaching the village soon," Ulka commented, "It sits along a small river full of gravel, hence the village's name."

"Makes sense," Shang said, nudging Kai with his elbow, shooting him a bright smile. Kai couldn't help but smile back and roll his eyes. The trio made their way to the top of a hill that overlooked a small village nestled up to the shore of a small river. "This must be it!" Shang exclaimed, "I'll go take a quick look from above and report back!" He whipped his glider open and flew into the air, circling the village from above like a vulture.

Kai and Ulka made their way towards the entrance of the village which was adorned with a wooden archway. "Mooshi, stay." Ulka said, patting the feline's head and kissing his nose.

Shang skidded to a halt behind them and sighed, "It doesn't seem like anybody is out today." He said, "The streets are completely empty."

Ulka shrugged and headed into the village, "Which means no lines for food!" She exclaimed, pulling out a small sack of money, "C'mon, we can share something." The boys were so hungry they couldn't refuse. The three walked down the completely empty streets, garbage cans rattled as stray cats dug within them and window shutters shook with the wind, clapping back and forth on the wooden walls. "This is…. Strange." Ulka commented, jumping slightly at a garbage can that was knocked over by the strays. "Where is everyo-?"

"Avatar!" A voice bellowed, "Hello, hello! What brings you upon our small village?" A plump man walked out from behind a corner, his facial hair was curled into a pleasant handlebar stache.

Kai's eyes widened, "M-Me?" He looked to his two companions who nodded plainly. "U-Uhhhm, we just wanted some food and a place to stay-."

"Well good! We have just that!" The man exclaimed, cutting Kai's soft voice off. "Come with me!" The man waved them on and began to walk. Kai looked around at the small houses, the boards crackling and the paint chipping. Faces gazed out from the clouded windows, watching him parade down the street with the genial man.

"Why is everyone inside?" Kai asked timidly.

The man snapped his head back and chuckled, "Oh, boy! They've all come down with a cold probably! It's a common occurrence here since our waters are so cold!" He explained, using grandiose hand movements, making his belly jiggle slightly.

Kai stared at the strange man who seemed to never stop smiling, "Right." He said softly, skepticism in his voice. They reached the end of the dirt path and walked along cobblestone, they were now surrounded by gorgeously painted homes, they sparkled with cleanliness. Nicely dressed people walked through the streets, giggling and chiming to one another about how beautiful the day was, "Excuse me, but how did you know I was the Avatar?" Kai asked, puzzled.

"Hm? I watch the news like every other person, your face is plastered all over it!"

Kai felt his stomach drop, "Right, of course."

"Please, stay in this inn! I will be back later to take you on a tour of our small town, how does that sound?" The man said, "I am Lord Feng Cho, if you need anything, just ask!" He left without another word.

Kai looked at the other two who looked back at him with the same weirded out expression, "What the hell just happened?" Shang grumbled.

"It was a complete ghost town one second then a utopia the next." Kai said, scratching the top of his head.

Ulka sighed and walked into the room they would all be sharing. She plopped down on the couch and kicked off her shoes, "It's pretty obvious to me what's going on. The poverty and wealth gap is astounding. There has to be some sort of corruption or some sketchy shit going on where this has been able to take place."

Shang nodded his head in approval, "I agree. Kai and I will do some digging around, you stay here for the tour." He said pointing at Ulka who was already snoring on the couch. "Of course." Shang sighed and grabbed Kai's hand pulling him with him out to the lobby. "So, we should ask around about what's up with this whole change of scenery." He said, letting his hand slip out of Kai's. He stroked his chin, "Hmmmm, this lobby is suspicious, suspicious indeed. I bet you those aren't even real flowers!" He accused, pointing his finger towards them.

A voice broke through from behind them, "They aren't, you dip." Shang whipped around and opened his mouth to say something, "You want to know about the change of scenery? I'll answer that question for you." A young girl leaned up against the wall, she wore dirty shoes and a clean maids dress. "Ain't nobody gonna answer your questions, if they do, they're risking their livelihood, their everything. You wouldn't want that, now would you?"

Shang shook his head and eyed the girl up and down warily, stepping forwards, "So, what's the deal? Why can't you answer me?"

The girl crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed, "What a stupid question, I just told you the answer didn't I?" Shang glared at the girl coldly. "Hmph, but I suppose I'll answer you since I have no family to lose. My name is Chin Hua, when I was born 12 years ago, a gang took over our town, ever since there's been a huge gap between the wealthy and the poor. My family died of sickness, and the gang didn't know what to do with me so the put me to work until I'm of age to marry one of the members of the gang or be sent away on my own." The girl shifted her foot to rest against the wall, "The gang controls everything in this town, the people affiliated with the gang get nicer houses, people who refuse to be a part of their filthy ways get treated like dirt, until the gang is gone, we are going to be the same, corrupt and selfish." The girl glanced around and spotted a clerk who stood behind the checkout counter who eyed her down, "I have to go, this is all I can tell you, I wish we had privacy, but I need to get back to work." She said, grabbing a cloth out from one of her pockets and beginning to saunter away.

"Wait, Chin Hua!" Shang said, holding his hand out towards her.

"Thank you, Chin Hua." Kai said softly, bowing to her. Chin Hua turned around with sadness in her eyes, nodding to the boys and turning the corner. Kai frowned, "What was that look?" he whispered to Shang.

Shang frowned and shrugged, "Not sure." They walked back to their room just in time to see Lord Feng Cho walking up to their door. "Oh, hi, Feng Cho." Shang said with a wave. Kai elbowed him in the side, making Shang squeal, "What?! Oh, I mean _Lord_ Feng Cho." He said, looking down at Kai and giving him a sneer.

Ulka opened the door and looked tiredly at Lord Feng Cho, "Oh, it's you." She said unpleasantly. Shang gestured towards her and looked helplessly at Kai who just shrugged, making Shang sigh with exasperation. Ulka closed the door before following Lord Feng Cho towards the lobby where some commotion could be heard. Screaming and breaking glass sounded from inside. Shang took off towards the lobby, "Shang!" Ulka and Kai exclaimed, looking at each other with mutual annoyance. "Just stay here with Lord Feng Cho and Riishi." She said, looking down at Kai's bag before taking off towards the lobby. A girl was kicking and screaming as she was being dragged by four large men. "What the hell is going on here?!"

Shang tackled one of the men, "Let her go!" He roared, airbending the man back into a wall.

Ulka let out jaded sigh before looking back at Lord Feng Cho who sped into the room, followed by Kai, "What is the meaning of this, guards?! Attacking a small girl in front of the _AVATAR_." He hissed, the fake smile on his face beginning to fade as his guards slowly let go of the girl who ran to Kai . "This-.. This never happens, I promise you." The flustered man stuttered.

Ulka shrugged, "I'm sure, it's none of our business if it does, shall we go to dinner now?"

Shang stormed towards the man with rage, "Bullshit! You treat these people like trash!"

Ulka's eyes widened, "This isn't our conflict, _Shang_." She growled.

"The hell it is! This girl was being attacked by this man's guards because she spoke out about how they're being treated. How come you treat these people so badly? Because you want their non-existent money, or because you want power?"

"ENOUGH!" The man thundered, his face now red, his cheerful smile replaced with a scowl. "Yes, I run this village because I can. I run this village because I am the most fit to do so, so I wouldn't expect you to understand-." He was cut off by a sharp gust of wind that whizzed past his ear, making his eyes widen, "You've made a mistake, airbender." The man said, punching the air flames roaring out of his fist.

Shang jumped out of the flame's way and sliced the air with his staff, sending a blade of wind towards the man, who spun out of the way. "Hmph, you've just messed with the strongest firebender in the country." He boasted, puffing his chest.

His look deflated when Ulka let out a loud cackle, " _You_?! Fatso?! _The strongest_?!" She put her hand on her stomach as tears came to her eyes, making Lord Feng Cho boil with rage. "You're the one who has made a mistake." She said with a wink.

Feng Cho scoffed, his cheeks becoming a shade lighter, "Are you saying you're stronger than me? Please. You're just a girl, you can't beat a man like me."

Ulka's face turned red immediately, "Is that right?! Screw you!" She screamed, kicking the air, sending an enormous flame hurdling into the man side, throwing him right through the wall of the inn and into the street, causing women in high heels to scatter about, screaming. "I am the strongest Firebender to ever walk this planet, you dingus! I am Ulka, The Sun!" She roared, smoke bellowing out of her mouth.

Shang ran up to Kai and Chin Hua, standing defensively in front of them as he knocked guards back one by one until all of them laid unconscious, "Ulka kicked that dude straight through the wall…" Shang said in disbelief.

Kai nodded and placed his hand on Chin Hua's shoulder, "Chin Hua, is there anybody you trust in to go hide with them? If things don't go well here…" He trailed off and gulped.

Chin Hua nodded and sprinted out of the hole in the wall, stopping and turning back, "Thank you for helping my people." She said genuinely before running off down the street to where the path turned to dirt.

Ulka stood above the man, "You're weak, hmph." She said, rolling up her sleeves and rubbing her hands together, making the ground beneath the man begin to heat up. Feng Cho flung his body off the ground and kicked a burst of fire into her face, Ulka raising her hand and swatting it away as if it were an annoying fly. "Nice try." She said, unamused, punching him in his fat gut, sending him crashing down the street into a fruit cart. Ulka walked up to his his seemingly limp body and began to open the ground beneath his body, "Good bye, ass-hat." She mumbled, her sigh cut off by Feng Cho standing up and beginning to send rapid punches towards her face. "Wow! You move fast for an old man! Hahaha!" She dodged the punches with ease, "Gimme a break." She scoffed, reeling her arm back to punch the man, but her attack being cut short by a large rock column shooting out of the ground and straight into her stomach, making her fly at least 30 feet down the street and into a few trashcans, she felt her lungs clench and tighten within her chest, making her short of breath. Her vision blurred and her voice squeaked, "Shit…"

Feng Cho appeared in her peripheral vision, standing with a man at his side, "Good job, Lee. I bet you never saw that coming did you?" He chuckled and held his hand out over Ulka's body, "So long, 'Sun'."

"Hey, if you kill her, your powers will be gone!" Shang called from behind them, "Are you really going to sacrifice all your power for one girl? C'mon, fight me instead." He said beckoning with one hand, "There are no repercussions." He chimed with a wink. Feng Cho barrelled towards him and began to firebend at him as well. Flames licked Shang's clothes, making him sweat with each one he dodged, "You sure are spunky!" Shang exclaimed with a winded laugh.

"Do kids ever shut up?" Feng Cho hissed, before sending a large fireball hurtling towards Shang, who swung at it with his glider sending it flying like a baseball, "Homerun!" He exclaimed with a giggle. Feng Cho shook with fury as he could hear one of his expensive houses being destroyed by his own fire. Feng Cho kicked flames out of his heel and sped towards him, just as he was about to reach him, a crack opened up into the ground and lava swirled around his leg, making him scream in a mixture of terror and pain before he was quickly pulled down below the surface and crushed. Silence crept into the alleyway as Shang stood in disbelief and Ulka stood with her hand still raised in a fist.

Her eyes met Shang's, her hand lowering and relaxing. "We need to leave." She said, glancing over to the guard who stood in shock before snapping into reality and calling on his ChiWatch for backup. "Hurry!" She exclaimed, grabbing Shang's arm and calling to Kai to follow. She released Shang and the trio sped down the dusty streets for the exit. Skidding to a halt outside the entrance they could hear cheering from inside the village as people began to exit their houses, Chin Hua yelled and cheered in the street, causing people to come out and celebrate with her. "Get on!" Ulka screamed at Kai over the commotion. Kai nodded and pulled himself up onto Mooshi's back, he could feel Ulka's heat emanating from her body like waves with every breath. Shang pulled out his glider and soared into the air, "Mooshi, hike!" The cheetah took off, sending Kai grabbing for Ulka's waist, the animal sped through the valley and into the woods that skirted the clearing, whizzing past trees and foliage, Kai flinching with each tree the whipped past his ears. They broke into a clearing and came across a large river, making Mooshi skid to a halt, sending Ulka and Kai flying off his back and into the frigid waters, "AAAAAGH!" Ulka and Kai yelled as they plunged in.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold!" Kai squealed, hopping out of the water. He turned around to see his companion floating on her back in the cold waters, steam rising off her skin, she let out a sigh and closed her golden eyes, "Ulka?" He asked, suddenly feeling a nudge from behind, he turned and saw Mooshi staring into his eyes, "Huh? I guess she does seem to be relaxed for once…" He said, glancing over at her, " I guess I'll just wait for Shang to come." He plopped down and watched his new friend float in the water, "Hm, I guess she is my friend now, whether I like it or not." He whispered to himself, "She's just so crazy sometimes." He pulled his legs to his chest and began to shiver, "Ugh, where's Shang when you need him?" Riishi crawled out of the soaking wet bag and let out a small sniffle, "I guess you're cold too." He picked up his small dog and held it against his chest.

He drifted off to sleep and before he knew it, he was being shaken awake by Ulka, "WAKE UP OH MY GOD WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" She screamed. Kai jumped up and looked around, alarmed. Ulka began to crack up and held her stomach, "Oh my god chill, I'm kidding." Kai rubbed his eyes and glared at her

Shang stifled laughter and stood next to him, "S-Sorry… You just looked so scared!" He let out a small giggle.

"Can we just go now?" Kai asked, a small smile showing on his lips, the three began to walk, making their way to their next destination, Makapu Village, a former spot where Avatar Aang and his friends met a certain fortune teller.


	6. Book 1: Lilies and Ashes

~Hello everyone! I am so sorry about the delay on this new chapter, midterms and tests were really taking a toll on my writing time, but hopefully I'll be back into the swing of things and updating at least once a week. Thank you for reading, I love all of you! :D~

A week passed and the trio had yet to see Makapu Village, only the occasional lodge or house. All three had lost a considerable amount of weight, causing them all to become a little bit cranky with one another. Ulka sighed and chewed on a piece of bark she had picked off a tree, the woodsy taste sticking to her gums, "This is getting aggravating…" She grumbled to herself spitting the wood out, the pulp landing on Shang's burgundy sneaker.

"Hey!" He hissed, stopping and taking his shoe off, "Get this off, that's disgusting!"

Ulka looked back wearily, bags under her eyes, "Shut up. You're so loud for an airbender." She said, licking her teeth with a loud sucking noise.

"You're quite the pig for a female." He retorted.

Ulka shot him a sneer and continued to walk, "Tsch, it is what it is, I'm _never_ going to change, add that to your memory, Monk Shang, I will never change." Shang and Ulka stopped, staring blankly at each other.

Meanwhile, Kai slowly walked with his new best friend, Mooshi. His eyes looked up into the cheetah's whose eyes glowed sympathetically. "At least we get along, Mooshi." He said, patting the feline's head. "it seemed so promising when we first got together, they seemed to like each other, right?" He looked to Mooshi who let out a huff of skeptic air, "Right…" The sun began to cast oranges and red over the nearly desolate landscape where burnt trees littered the large field of crackled dirt and small cacti. The ground crunched beneath their tired feet, their legs weak and lungs burning, they collapsed for the night. Ulka let out a groan and she shuffled under a scalded skeleton of a tree, her other two comrades sitting across from her. Kai could feel the group beginning to tear apart, hunger was setting in and so was the irritability. "Guys, should we talk about our situation?" Kai suggested gingerly.

Shang stared blankly at Kai, his eyes reaching somewhere behind him, "What is there to talk about?" He asked, squinting. Ulka scoffed and shook her head. Shang's head snapped to her direction, "What?" He demanded harshly.

Ulka rolled her eyes, "What is there to talk about? There's so much to talk about that even your lifetime can't hold it all. What do you think people back in Avatar Aang's day did to pass time? They didn't have ChiWatches or ChiGames, they told stories."

Shang pursed his lips, "Geez, grandma, sorry I asked."

Ulka snorted with laughter, "Here, I'll tell you a story about my childhood, then you can think of what to tell next.

Liuka and Rohan aren't my real parents, obviously, they're like 80 and I'm 16, _anyways_ , I was born into a very wealthy home, like eating gold sprinkled ice cream every night wealthy. My parents were famous politicians who kind of ran our huge village and the whole region surrounding. When I was born, I was born a non-bender, and my parents were so relieved. See, my parents were strongly against benders and how they 'oppress' non-benders, that's why they were so popular in my village. I think that's bullshit, really, non-benders are useful in ways like running shops and stuff. So, my parents did expect anything was off when their child was born with curly, gold hair and yellow eyes, nope, must be the recessive gene of two people with black hair and blue eyes.

When I entered middle school at the age of 11, they began bending tests, I failed all of them and was declared a non-bender, my best friend, however, aced all of them. Nanuq was a year older than me and a waterbending prodigy, he could move a whole river into a new tributary if he felt like it, he really was powerful…" Ulka sighed and closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself, "I remember the day that Nanuq and I walked together to the spirit portal and we discovered who I really was. I was thirteen and he was fourteen, he was so short for his age that he was the same height as me! What a loser." She felt nostalgia creep into her body, making her feel warm in the cold night, "We had a large grove of lilies right outside of our village that surrounded a spirit portal. That's where Nanuq and I used to go play, because nobody would ever find us there. So that day we went to play by the spirit portal and I hid really close to it in a game of hide-and-seek. I began to feel this deep burning sensation in my stomach that radiated throughout my body, making me double over in pain.

The pain was nothing like anything I have ever felt before in my life, I thought I was getting my period but that would make no damn sense. I remember seeing Nanuq run to me while I laid in the lilies, their smell intoxicating me. I faded in and out of consciousness as Nanuq tried to heal me with the water he had drained from the surrounding plant life." Ulka began to pick and the crackled dirt beneath her, pulling up small pieces and crushing them between her fingertips. "Nanuq began to try and heal me, but was sent flying backwards by my energy. I finally passed out from the pain and woke up in a strange place. There were trees twisted at unearthly angles and a thin sheet of coals were spread about the ground, but they didn't feel hot, even though they glowed red. I could barely see in the dim, red lights until a glowing body made of ember appeared in front of me. It was a man who was at least 11 feet tall, he had a short beard and strange markings all over his face. His eyes were actual flames, like, actual fucking flames coming out of his sockets. I thought I was on acid or we had stumbled into some poisonous field of hallucinogenic flowers or some shit. It turned out though that the man who was standing before me was my spirit, my actual soul, he said, _AHEM_ ," Ulka cleared her throat and began speaking in a low grumbly voice, " **I am Roj! The spirit of the Sun, and you, Ulka, are now my body!** I began to feel hot air blowing around my body, _WOOOOOOSH!"_ She flailed her hands around in a circle to demonstrate, "All I could see were red and orange flames and my body felt like it was floating and suddenly all my sense were absent of heat and I dropped to the ground. My body felt completely frigid, I shivered on the ground where I was surrounded by burnt flowers and the darkness of nighttime. I scooped the ashes up into my hands and felt their warmth, yet they didn't burn me. That's when I knew what had happened was real." A snort escaped her nose as she let out a giggle, "Maybe it was also an indicator when Nanuq was sitting there, pretty much shitting himself that I had just levitated in a tornado of fire, according to him." Fondness filled her eyes and her heart, "He sat with me and told me about how he had known ever since he was young that he was the Moon. I thought it was funny how I never knew this about him and yet we grew up together, becoming best friends. I guess he goes by his spirit's name now, Twi, I don't think I'll ever take Roj's name, I don't think he would like that." Ulka sat back and leaned on her hands, "So I went home. Things were normal for a while, my parents acted like nothing was up, they seemed fine. On my first day of school as a 13 year old, I came home and nothing was left. There was no note, nothing but my bed and the things in my room. They left some food and some money, but my parents were gone. I haven't seen them since then and I never want to, they made their decision and I respect that. I don't want to kill them, I don't resent them, they just mean nothing to me, they are absolutely nothing to me." She said, the ground around her beginning to glow red. "It was never my fault I was born this way." She said softly. She stopped abruptly and put her legs criss-cross and began to meditate, "That enough for tonight, goodnight." She said quickly, the melted dirt from beneath her folding up into a molten ball around her, it solidifying into glass.

Kai let out a deep breath, "Listening to her talk is a rollercoaster of emotions." He said, staring at her a curious look in his eyes. "She's a very weird person." He mused in his soft voice, he smiled at her gently and stood up, "I'm going to find a comfier spot to sleep." When there was no response from Shang, he saw the boy had already fallen asleep. Kai shuffled over to Mooshie and collapsed next to him, laying his head on the beast's side, Riishi emerging from his bag and snuggling up with him. Jealousy began to creep into his chest as he stared into the stars, "Ulka just got powers, she walked near a spirit portal and just so happened to receive the most powerful firebending powers on Earth. Now, I have to travel all the way up to the stupid North Pole just to fuse with my spirit, and then I have to train. I can't even lift a crate of roses, let alone bend earth, which is my natural element, I mean, how does this shit happen to me? First I'm an orphan, now I'm a freak show all over the news." He shifted to look at Riishi, "Why did you pick me? Why not Shang? Shang is strong and smart, I'm weak and dumb, I couldn't even make a C in history, how do you even fail a history class?! Ugh!" His forearm clamped over his eyes as he groaned with exasperation, "All I do is hold others back, Shang could be in school working to be a biochemist like he's always wanted but I'm the baggage that he always has to hold." Narrowing his eyes, he sat up, "I won't let myself be baggage anymore!" He exclaimed, standing up and walked towards a charred tree trunk, beginning to practice throwing punches. His fist collided with the black bark and sent shock waves up his noodle arm. "GAA-!" He clamped his hand over his mouth and let out muffled curses to himself and he sulked back to Mooshi, who still slept peacefully. Overcome with embarrassment, Kai laid downa nd closed his eyes, just wanting this journey to end.


	7. Book 1: The Volcano

The trio walked until they finally reached a wooded area once again, their clothes were dirty, their hair crusted with dust. Ulka kept her distance from the boys, not wanting to be bothered in such a state. Her usually soft stomach was caving in from hunger and her thighs shook with exhaustion. Though, their bodies were fatigued, they knew they were going to reach the city soon, for a giant volcano loomed in the distance. Small clouds of smoke lazily drifted from the top, and soon the travellers lazily drifted into the small village, Makapuku Village. A giant statue stood triumphantly in the center of the village of Avatar Aang, his hands on his hips as he stared off into the distance. "Avatar Kai!" A shrill voice screeched, "He's here! OMG! HE'S HERE!" A mob of small girls came sprinting in their direction. Kai rubbed his eyes, sure this was a mirage. Kai had never had any girls ever interested in him, Shang always stole the show, with his good-looks and cool guy attitude, plus it was a real bonus that he was a bender.

Kai stepped back slightly, "Uh-Uhhhhh, wait! Please!" He squeaked weakly, putting his palms out in front of him.

"BACK OFF, FANGIRLS!" Ulka roared, fire billowing out of her mouth and a huge wall of flame roaring out of the ground. The flames died down and the little girls stood in shock before tears welling up in their innocent eyes. They all scattered as Ulka stood, her shoulder hunched and her back raising up and down with her labored breaths, "Dumb bitches can't see we're hungry and tired, where can a girl get some food around here?!" She yelled out.

A weathered old man slowly made his way towards them, a friendly smile appearing below his fumanchu, "Hello Avatar and… friends…" He said eying Ulka who just glared back, "Welcome to Makapuku Village. I am quite glad you have come here at such a convenient time, please, come eat and rest." He said leading them to a large house in the center of the square, "I am the Fortune Teller of this village. I see the future within the rocks around our village, considering the clouds didn't work last time, heh heh." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. The gang followed the geezer into a huge room where bowls were being placed down at a table long enough to fit at least 40 people. "We heard you had arrived and I told my cooks to begin immediately!" His wide smiled was drenched in pure happiness, "Please, please, sit!" The group sat down at the end of the table where the elder sat at the head. "Now, I must say, we are so happy to have the Avatar with us in such a time of despair in our village, but now I can say we have hope."

Ulka raised an eyebrow as she began to help herself to dumplings and all sorts of other goods, "Despair?" She grumbled, shoving a dumpling into her mouth.

Shang sipped his tea, "Everything seemed alright outside, what's troubling you?"

The old man chuckled again, "Well, you see, the volcano is going to explode soon. Most likely tonight."

Ulka snorted in surprise and began to choke on a dumpling, coughing out the bits onto her plate as Kai and Shang sat up on their cushions, "WHAT!?" They both exclaimed, shocked. "How are you so calm right now?!" Shang exclaimed.

"Oh hohoho, it is because the Avatar is here, so we have nothing to fear from the elements, after all, he is the master of all four."

Kai's eyes widened, "No! I don't even-."

"Know where to begin about how powerful he is!" Shang interrupted. "We'll help you, don't worry!"

"I knew the lives of our villagers could rest in your hands, Avatar Kai! Thank you!" He exclaimed standing them bowing on all fours to Kai. "I guess we should have considered moving our village after the first explosion, but now we know we'll never have to worry about a thing again because of yo-."

"Alright, alright, old man. We gotta go." Ulka said, standing up, throwing her napkin down and stepping on and over the table to grab the two boys and drag them out the door.

"Thanks for the meal!" Shang attempted to add as Ulka slid the door shut with a loud ' _CLACK!'_.

"Are you out of your _fucking mind_?!" Ulka screamed. Her hand gripped Shang's collar, "What are you doing saying that he will do shit when he can't even waterbend if he did a canonball in the pool!?"

Shang shrugged and looked over to Kai who sat in disbelief, "I just thought… You would do it?"

Ulka's face turned deep red and the floor beneath her caught fire, "That I WOULD DO IT?! YOU JUST ASSUME I'LL DO IT?!" She roared, her eyes turning into blazing flames.

Kai shook and stuttered, "W-Well, what are we gonna do?" His eyes went back and forth between the two.

"We're gonna leave." She growled, cooling down a bit, storming off and leaping onto Mooshi's back, beckoning for Kai to come, who obeyed just like a dog. Shang reluctantly followed. A gentle breeze blew through the night as the travellers finally had a full stomach, but the tension was not cleared, if anything it was worse than before. "I didn't even get to shower either." Ulka mumbled.

"Yeah? Well, neither will the villagers when they're dead." Shang spat.

"Yeah? Well maybe you shouldn't have told their leader that we would save them when we actually can't do shit about it."

Shang stopped and scoffed, "Can't do shit?! You're the Sun for the Gods' sake!"

Ulka raised an eyebrow and hopped off of Mooshie, "Yeah, well it isn't the Sun's job to save people, the Sun is the spirit of heat and balance, not crime fighting and lifesaving, if you haven't noticed I don't give a shit."

Suddenly the ground tore from beneath their feet and began to shake violently, smoke and embers shot out of the top of the volcano in the distance. "Oh my gods..." Kai whispered.

Ulka looked back, her eyes wide. She glared back at the two boys who stood, frozen with horror. "Damn it…" She grumbled, taking off, flames flying out of her feet and she ran, propelling her forwards at impossible speeds.

Shang hopped onto Mooshi and pulled Kai up, "Let's go! Follow her, Mooshi!" Mooshi let out a small grunt of approval and sped away, keeping Ulka in sight. Screams could be heard in the distance. As they approached the village, people clogged the small path leading into the valley below.

Ulka lifted off into the air, flying like a rocket. She flew straight up to the volcano the ash and coals flying at her, lava pouring over her feet, burning her shoes off. The hot wind whipped her long, golden hair around her making her squint, "Stupid volcano!" She growled, her arm shot out to her side as she wrangled some of the lava that was pouring down, pulling it up like a long, burning rope that was 10 times her size. Her muscles twitched and flexed as she maneuvered the lava into one giant conglomeration above her head, "GAAAAH! This is too heavy!" She grimaced and threw the giant blob of lava to the other side of the mountain. "I am the most powerful lavabender in the universe, I am the most powerful lavabender in the universe…" She whispered to herself, "I am the most powerful lavabender in the universe!" She bellowed, crouching down, both of her legs making 90 degree angles. Her hands started at the ground as she began to pull up, the weight of thousands of gallons of lava pulling on her tendons, muscles, and skin. She screamed with determination as all of the lava that was heading for the village suddenly stopped in its tracks and began to rise. Her fingers moved and commanded the lava to shrink back towards her, the giant streams of the glowing liquid flipped up into the air around her, looking like snakes to a charmer. By the time her arms were fully extended to the heavens, all the lava that would have flooded the town swirled around her in a godly display of power.

Shang stood on the fortune tellers roof where the old man stood, tears in his eyes, "Is this the true Avatar?" He asked, Shang looking up at the black silhouette that stood holding all the liquid the volcano held above her head.

Shang glanced over, "Yes… That is Kai…"

Kai stood on the outskirts of town with Mooshi, watching as the small girl who had assured him that she didn't care stood atop a rumbling volcano, using all her power and strength to hold it back. His eyes sparkled at how much power the girl held, even Avatar Aang had help in his endeavor to stop the volcano in the past.

Ulka threw the lava over the volcano and breathed deeply as steam sizzled out of her pores, "Shit…" She whispered as her vision began to sway, "I think I overdid it…." She stumbled forwards and fell off the edge of the volcano, plummeting towards the ground.

Shang gasped and pulled his glider off his back, speeding away to catch her. He snagged her out of the air, her skin scalding him, "OW!" He screamed, dropping her body then scrambling to catch it again. "Ow, ow, ow, ow." He hissed, finally reaching the ground far away enough the the old man didn't see that Ulka was not Kai. Shang looked at the pale girl, who usually radiated a tan glow, she had given all her power to stop the lava and he gave all the credit to Kai. "It's for his reputation in the future…" He reassured himself, "People would have looked back and said it was him anyways, right?" He breathed heavily and rubbed his face with his hands, pulling his knees to his chest.

Ulka stirred, her body was sore all over, her muscles throbbing, "Ugh… I really did it this time, huh?' She uttered under her breath with a smile, "I saved them though. Roj is proud of me." She whispered, before attempting to sit up but groaning with pain and flopping back down.

"Rest, rest!" Shang exclaimed.

Mooshi trotted up to the two, Kai on his back, "Ulka!" He cried out, hopping down and rushing over to her side, "Are you alright?!" He went to touch her before getting his hand snatched away by a much larger, rougher hand. "Shang?"

Shang released him and sighed, "She's really really hot."

Kai pursed his lips skeptically, "Uhm, no she's not…" He laid a hand on her forehead, "She's ice cold…" He whispered, beginning to shake.

The Fortune Teller shuffled up behind them, followed by a huge mob of people with cameras and ChiPhones. "Avatar Kai! Avatar Kai! Thank you for helping us! You were truly magnificent up atop the mountain!" The old man exclaimed, followed by the cheers of his people.

Kai shook his head, "I-."

Shang stepped in front of him, "He was magnificent wasn't he?!" He exclaimed, he looked back at the motionless body of Ulka then looked ahead, "Kai will be the most powerful, balanced Avatar yet! Trust me on this one, folks! Kai will be the most captivating Avatar you have ever seen in the history books!" Shang chortled with laughter, "Now that's enough paparazzi, thank you for your interest! You will next see the Avatar in the North Pole visiting the Moon! Goodbye!" He said, laughing nervously as Kai stared daggers at him. Shang grabbed Kai's hand and pulled back to where Ulka was, lifting her up onto Mooshi, walking away down a path leading North. Shang waved back at the people who were yelling words of thanks at him and Kai.

As soon as they were out of sight, Kai stopped and shook his head, "Shang…"

Shang stopped as well, looking down at his feet, "Listen, I know what I did was wrong, but-." Kai looked up, tears welling in his eyes, "No… Kai, don't cry. Please, don't cry." He said, stepping forwards reaching a hand out to him.

Kai slapped his friend's hand away, making him stumble a little bit, "How could you?! Are you really _that_ fucking shallow?!"

Shang blushed at Kai's words, "I-I'm not shallow! I was doing that for you, you're gonna be the one that needs the good rep, not Ulka!"

"Who cares who need the good rep, Shang?! What you did was wrong, look at her! She gave all of her power and life force into that! She didn't even want to help and yet she did because you were the one badgering her about it! You got her into this mess and then you straight up deny her having anything to do with it?!" Kai's face was red and his fists clenched.

Shang's face lost color as his stomach fluttered with shame, "I…" he was at a loss for words, Kai rarely ever got mad at him, and if he did he usually got over it in a few minutes.

"Shut up, Shang!" Kai spat, "You know, sometimes you can be a real douche." He said, his eyes looking down and his voice trembling at the boldness of his words. "F- Sc-Screw you." He grumbled, walking past Shang, who stood in shock, his eyes staring at the ground. He flinched as Kai walked by, turning his head away. Kai stopped and looked back at him, sadness in his eyes, "I wish I had more guts. I would say everything in my mind right now."

Shang looked at him with big, watery eyes, "Then say it."

Kai scoffed, "'Just say it.' You think I can just say what I want. I'm not like you, Shang. I'm the opposite of you, element, personality, everything." He looked ahead, "Let's just walk." He said softly, beginning their journey again. Shang felt a knot in his throat, making it hard for him to breath as they walked, tears began to well up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away and put back on his carefree disguise


	8. Book 1: The Ghost Barrel

After a week of non-stop travel, the gang of teens was exhausted. The heat was excruciating and the pain that had ravaged Ulka's body was even worse. Though they had been heading north, the summer air remained dry and heavy. Ulka's arms were wrapped around Mooshi's neck like a baby monkey, "Ohhhh, Mooshi," She whined, "How can I just leave you here? I'll miss you so much. I hate having to do this…" She whimpered, burying her face in the back of her beloved pet's neck. Mooshi let out a tiny meow that made Ulka giggle.

Shang smiled and patted the animal's rear, "Mooshi will be in good hands, I know the guy who runs the animal daycare and he is _awesome_. One time, I watched him shoot a can off of an airbison's head with a single puff of air… from _thirty feet_."

Ulka shot him a bewildered glare.

"Maybe that's a bad example… But he's a caring guy nonetheless."

Ulka sighed and the team was in silence once again. Ever since the volcano incident, the tension between Kai and Shang had been bringing down the group. Ulka insisted that she didn't care whether she got recognition or not, but Kai said it was about morals and that he didn't feel comfortable with Shang's moral ambiguity.

Ulka didn't care either way.

The trio approached the ferry that would be taking them to the North Pole. Ulka hopped off of Mooshi and hugged the frilled cheetah lizard tightly. The creature responded with an affectionate nuzzle and love-filled lick. Ulka felt herself choke up before she kissed Mooshi's little, wet nose. She said goodbye as Shang exchanged information with his airbender animal whisperer.

Kai set his hand on Ulka's shoulder, "We're so close…" He felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement, he was finally going to be something other than normal.

Ulka smiled at him and set her hand on top of his head, "Yeah."

The three walked up the ferry, no passport needed, everyone knew who they were, or at least, who Kai was.

Ulka sat between the two boys. The tension between them crackled through the air like static on fuzzy socks in the winter. "Really?" She uttered under her breath. Her eyes rolled in her head before she spoke up, "I'm going to get some water." She stood from where they sat on the floor and maneuvered through crowds of tired people. Kai glanced over at Shang who looked back at him. Kai turned away and crossed his arms.

Hours passed and night fell. People began to lay down and soon enough, everyone was sleeping except for the two boys and Ulka, who was still nowhere to be seen. Shang felt the rage that had been filling his stomach rise up to his throat, "Kai… I know you're mad at me, but you can't stay this way forever. Just… Please, be my friend again I miss talking to yo-."

"When I become the real Avatar and we get back home, _don't_ talk to me. I don't want to associate myself with someone who is okay with utilizing someone else's power for their own public appearance. Who knows what you would do with my powers?" Kai spat.

Shang's jaw dropped and he let out a scoff, "Are you _serious_?" He turned a little onto his side and stared daggers at his companion, "I did that for you, why the hell would I do something to hurt you?" He growled. He reached out for Kai's arm but was met with a swift scold from Kai who told him not to touch him. "Kai…" Shang whispered, feeling himself getting angrier. "Why the fuck are you still mad at me?! I did what I did to help you in the long run because I care about you!"

Kai bit his lip in silence then stood up, his wrist was grabbed by Shang. Kai violently pulled away and cautiously stepped over people who laid about snoring peacefully. Shang sat alone in the dark, tears of frustration stinging his eyes. He felt jealous of the peaceful sleepers, he only wished for the chaos in his brain to subside. He violently wiped his tears away with his forearm and stood, following his friend with much less grace, unremorsefully waking up quite a few people in the process.

Kai stalked down the side of the boat, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had always been a very honest, kind kid. He knew that Shang was his opposite, but it was always fun and games to him. Shang brought excitement to his otherwise boring, sleepy life. The village they grew up in together housed a high population of kids, but very little orphans. So, when Kai met Shang, it was like finding a needle in a haystack: an orphan in a child-stack. He clung onto Shang any way he knew how, because Shang understood him and defended him in his times of need.

Shang saw Kai's short, familiar figure turn the corner a ways down the boat. Shang had always admired the way Kai had been. Though his past was rough, with being an orphan in a horrible home and all, Kai always managed to be loving and sweet to all living things, even his shitty foster parents. Shang quickened his pace and finally caught up to Kai, who was so deafened by the sounds of the sea, he didn't hear Shang approaching. Shang grabbed Kai's arm and pulled him towards him, "Kai! Please stop this! I don't want to lose you!" He exclaimed.

Kai looked away and sighed, pulling his arm gently out of Shang's hand. "Well… I want you to get lost." He grumbled. Shang felt his breath catch in his throat as he felt his stomach churn violently.

Shang stood in disbelief before letting out a laugh, "Okay, okay." His cackle brought tears to his eyes and he held his stomach. Shang threw his head back in a ridiculous display, his small, light brown bun tousling as he put on of his hands on top of his head.

Kai felt himself warm with embarrassment, "I-I'm serious, Shang!" He stammered. His friend continued to laugh. After a minute, his giggles died down into him just grinning at Kai, who was rather disgruntled by his little show. Shang put his hand on his own forehead, pushing his bangs up a little.

Kai scoffed and went to walk by Shang, but was cut off by a barrel flying off of a crate in front of them, almost hitting Kai. The boys screamed and Kai backed into Shang, gripping the taller boys arm in fear. They sighed in relief simultaneously and Kai let go of Shang, "Sorry." He muttered. Shang shrugged and Kai walked ahead again, but the barrel began to slide across the floor, not roll, _slide_. Kai froze and so did the barrel. Kai looked back at Shang who stood with a bemused smile. Kai gingerly took another step and the barrel went **ham** , doing flips and hurling itself at Kai. "OH MY GOD IT'S A GHOST!" Kai screamed, running past Shang, who was screaming obscenities before he turned and ran with Kai. The turned the corner and leaned against a wall where they both panted, adrenaline tearing through their veins.

"Did you… Say that barrel was a ghost?" Shang teased.

Kai shot him a defensive look, "Well, how else would you explain it?"

Shang grinned and put his hands on his hips, "Ulka? She's been gone for hours, that's long enough to scheme up a plan."

Kai put his finger under his chin and nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense, but none of her bending could have done something like that… Plus," His body suddenly went stiff as he looked up at Shang, "I heard an old couple talking about how a young couple were murdered on this boat by the girl's father." Shang's eyebrows twitched with intrigue, "Legend has it, that the two were forbidden lovers, one girl was from the old cabbage company and the other girl was from the old melon company." Kai leaned in and whispered, "The two were in love, but their fathers hated one another. The companies were huge competitors, so the two kept it on the down low… Until they announced their engagement and fled for the North Pole, where they knew their fathers would never follow due to the poor growing climate for cabbage and melons." Shang nodded in understanding. "But the fathers didn't care about the cabbage climate. I guess the melon dad didn't care either. They followed them on and right before they saw land on the horizon, _ZAP_!" Shang jumped and Kai threw his hands up for dramatic effect, "The two girls were electrocuted by some sort of glove contraption and thrown overboard with their wrists tied together. They say that the father carved into their arms, 'Together, until death and beyon-. GAH!" Suddenly Kai felt something crash into his head. The object bounced off his head and clattered to the ground. It was a small necklace with a diamond heart on it. "Oh mY GODSSSS!" Kai screamed.

Shang looked at him with a startled expression, "What the hell is wrong with you?!" He exclaimed.

"Someone just threw this-!"

"Who?!"

Kai looked in the direction in came from and saw a woman in drenched factory worker clothes squatting on the ground, her soaking wet hair covering her face. "Her." He squeaked.

Shang sharply inhaled and let out a, "OH SHIT!" Before grabbing Kai's arm and turning the other way only to be met by another woman in a drenched sundress, her hair also doing the same number as the other woman. Shang and Kai stood together, they could feel the presence of the other woman encroaching behind them. "We need to find a way out," Shang whispered. "I would fly us out, but my glider is in luggage." Kai's eyes scanned the area until he saw a small janitor's closet only a few feet away. He pulled Shang towards it, and as he did, the women abruptly sped up and began to run for them until Kai and Shang were locked in the small, dark dungeon together. There were scratches and moans at the door, "Of course we get on the haunted ferry. That's why the shit was so cheap." The scratches turned into pounding and screeching that was deafening, "I swear, we need to read the reviews more diligently next time and check for possession-."

Kai covered his ears, the screeching and pounding overwhelming him, "I'm sorry!" He cut Shang off.

Shang looked at him puzzled.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you." The scratches on the door became softer and less frequent, "I'm sorry I've been so cold. I know you were just trying to help."

Shang gave Kai a bewildered look.

Kai looked at him with his big, brown eyes, "I- I just… There's a lot that's going to happen… And a lot that's going to change. I'm scared of the future, what if… What if I'm on good enough? What if I'm a failure? I don't want to go down as the worst Avatar in history! One mistake and I'm done. I feel so stupid getting mad at you…"

"No, no… _I'm_ sorry. What I did was wrong." He sighed, "The future is a scary thing. I wanted to look out for you. I know that what we're about o go through will change our lives forever, yours especially. Even though I did it for you… I won't do it again unless you ask me to. But just know, I will do _anything_ for you, Avatar Kai." Shang's two-colored eyes squinted as he gave Kai a silly grin, the green and hazel splotches shimmering with the moonlight that spilled through the cracks in the door.

Kai smiled and hugged his friend from the side, "Don't get lost Shang."

Shang chuckled, "I wasn't even planning on it." He squeezed his friend back and rested his head on top of Kai's wild, brown hair. The two felt themselves drift off in the now silent closet, quickly passing out. They were woken up by a bright light and the sound of a startled, old man.

"Hwhat the?!" The elderly janitor exclaimed.

The two boys sat up and rubbed their eyes, both of them greeted by knocks to the head from a dusty broom. "I WON'T HAVE THE YOUTH CANOODLING IN MY CLOSETS, NO SIR-EE!" He wheezed, swinging at the laughing boys who took off back down the hall, leaping over the barrel that still remained in the middle of the walk-way.

The two stumbled into the common area, gasping for air and crying with laughter, Shang's big arm around Kai's slim shoulders. Ulka stood with her arms crossed, "The hell? Where have you two been?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kai scoffed, "Like you don't know!"

"Yeah," Shang chimed, "Little miss ghostie!"

Ulka looked back and forth between the two for a second, "... What?"

The boys stopped and looked at one another, then back at Ulka.

"You know what? I don't give a shit, because it looks like you two are finally getting along and that's a helluva weight off of my shoulders." She said with a shrug. The boys smiled at her strangely and she glared back at them. " _What_?" She huffed.

The boys hugged her, "We're sorrrrry!" They cooed, squeezing her tight between them.

"Okay, okay!" She squeaked, "You'll really be sorry when I burn your pants off!" The boys immediately dispersed, leaving Ulka to gasp for air, "Yeah, protect your pants." She hissed. Suddenly the boat began to slow rapidly, setting everyone off balance.

A static voice came through the intercom, " _Alright passengers, we are now approaching the North Pole! Hopefully you brought some heavy jackets and boots because it's flurrying out there! Stay warm, and thank you for sailing with us._ "

The ship finally docked, and Kai felt his stomach doing flips and jumps. He felt two mittened hands grip his shoulders. His two friends smiled, "This is the beginning of a grand future." Ulka extolled.

Shang nodded and tousled Kai's hair before they made their way for the snow.


	9. Book 1: Frozen Hell

The small fishing village on the outskirts of the North Pole was bustling a full of merchants heckling one another, trying to insult their way to a cheaper price, "This fish ain't nothin', Namoak, and you know it!" Spat one merchant.

"Hmph, right, like you could find any fish this fresh and cheap by New Republic City." Grumbled Namoak, "The ice fish are much firmer and last longer than the fish that swim in the polluted sludge you call the Republic Bay."

The Republic Merchant pursed his lips, "I could walk right into the Lunar City and get the same fish for cheape-!"

"Bahahaha! 'Walk right into Lunar City'?! I've never heard a sentence so dense." Namoak scoffed, "Lunar City is the most heavily guarded city in the Northern Nations, we have a huge wall for Ice Bear's sake! You think, you of all people, are just gonna walk right in? They screen every single being who walks in that place, nobody comes out or in without seeing a member of the Lunar Army first… So are you gonna buy this fish, or what?" The Republic Merchant nodded his head in defeat and handed over the Yuans.

Shang smirked and scuttled back to his friends, "Guys! I was just eavesdropping on a conversation and I heard something you might find interesting…"

"If it's about how their daughter is single, I don't want to hear it-." Ulka grumbled, as she picked at a leftover roll from the ferry.

"No, no! If it was I wouldn't be here right now, would I?" He gloated, as if it was his best trait that he was known to stalk girls. "Some merchants were talking and they said the city has a HUGE wall that's heavily guarded."

Ulka looked back and forth between Kai and Shang, "Who cares? We're welcome guests, I mean, the Moon was my best friend, I'm sure when they find out I'm the Sun we'll get VIP treatment, the works!" She picked her nails and flicked the residue towards Kai who flinched as the dirt hit his forehead.

"True… But just in case something happens! You gotta know that much, like what if we're ambushed by pirates, or worse, bandiiiits!"

Kai sighed at Shang's remarks, "We're fine, Shang." He assured, feeling nervousness creep into his stomach. As his knees locked up, he felt sweat forming in his palms beneath his gloves, he was about to officially be the Avatar with power and responsibility. After this day, he would no longer be Kai from the flower shop, he would be Avatar Kai who would go down as either the best or worst Avatar in history. "Hnnng." He groaned as he shifted back and forth. Shang gave him a worried look and draped his muscular, thin arm over his shoulder. Shang always smelled like peaches to Kai, he always had a distinct sweet smell to him that somehow calmed Kai down a bit, it reminded him of the summer they would spend together in the village running from shop owners who chased them down with brooms after Shang stole candies or small trinkets. Kai smiled at this fond memory which made Shang look down at him with interest sparkling in his eyes, he tousled Kai's hair and pulled him with him as Ulka lead them to the colossal wall that guarded the Moon's domain.

As they walked over packed snow Ulka's mind raced from Mooshi who stayed back on warm land and Twi, her Moon counterpart. Would he remember her face? Would he even know who she is? Of course he would, right? They walked silently, the melty snow squeaking under their boots, it was summer after all, so the temperature rose to a comfortable 33 degrees fahrenheit. Ulka walked in her thin traditional robe, while the boys shivered in their fur coats. The heat of her soul helped her body stay at a comfortable temperature in the cold. They approached the large wall constructed out of ice and metal, "Hey! Guards! Hello?!" Ulka yelled waving her hand as they stood in front of the giant frosty gates. She could see two men peering from the top of the wall down at them. The wall seemed to go on forever, it was at least 20 stories tall if not more. As Ulka made eye contact with the little men up in the sky, they disappeared back onto the top of the wall. Small doors opened out of the ice and two dozen soldiers came pouring out, weapons pointed at the trio.

"Woah woah woah!" Shang exclaimed, gripping his glider.

Ulka raised her hand to him, "Wait, I got this." She looked at the men and her eyes began to glow like embers, "Men, I am Ulka, the spirit of the Sun! Let my friends and I in and nobody will get hurt!" The men looked at each other worriedly, yet they stepped in gingerly towards Team Avatar. Ulka's eyes narrowed, "I see how it's going to be…" She whispered, "Shang, take Kai and fly him over the wall, I'll distract the troops for the time being, there must be some sort of misunderstanding."

Shang nodded and looked to Kai, who's small dog popped its head out, tilting its head, puzzled. "We'll find a place to lay low until you get in. See you soon." He said, wrapping his arm around Kai's side, "Let's go!" He exclaimed with a grin, flying up into the air.

Ulka punched at the men, large, white flames flying out at them, evaporating the snow beneath their feet. The men whipped at her with water, attempting to grab her wrists before the water began to boil and evaporate, "Weak." She grumbled, stomping the ground, making flames taller than the men burst out of the ground and knock the men back. The ground trembled as a tall man, covered in crystal armor, came from behind and grabbed her, "Pfft, well if it isn't Frosty the Snowman, long time no see, you're a few months early." She chopped his arm with a red hot hand making the man groan and stumble back, the melted ice-armor quickly regenerating. She watched as Shang and Kai glided over the wall, "Ahhh! You're too powerful, I give up!" She exclaimed, raising her hands in surrender and dropping to her knees in the snow. The men quickly stormed her and restrained her hands, dragging her off into the hollowed wall.

Shang glanced around wearily as most of the guards were pre-occupied with Ulka's little scene. They made it over the surprisingly wide wall, or so it seemed. Icicles came whirring past them, whistling in the crisp air, "Crap!" Shang hissed, he took in a deep breath and exhaled a huge gust of wind billowing towards the man, knocking him off his feet for a second before he stood back up and continued firing, an icicle grazing Shang's side making him cry out.

Kai could see blood beginning to trickle out of the gash from through his wild, light brown hair that was being whipped all over his face by the arctic wind. "Shang, hold on, I'll stop the bleedi-, uh, Shang?" Shang's arm started to twitch sending the boys jerking to one side, making Kai squeal in horror, "Shang, stop!"

Shang glared down at Kai, "Oh, okay! Sure, I'll just stop the completely involuntary twitching of my arm, SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!" He exclaimed.

Kai furrowed his brow and rolled his eyes, "My bad. Just land over there on that snow bank. HOLY SH-!" He was interrupted by them suddenly plummeting towards the ground, "SHANG, WHAT THE HELL?!"

Shang looked at him with a lukewarm expression, "Sorry," He shrugged, "I mean, my arm isn't twitching anymore."

"Are you _insane_?!" Kai screamed. Shang sighed and crossed his arms as they spiralled towards the ground, "Okay, okay I'm sorry, now save us!" Kai's voice cracked with fear as the snowy ground approached.

Shang nodded in approval and punched towards the ground, cushioning their fall only slightly before they were submerged in snow, only their feet sticking out towards the sky. Kai wriggled his way out and groaned, shaking the snow off of his head and patting it out of his shirt. A dome of wind swirled around Shang, sending all the snow surrounding him flying. Kai was pelted in the face by icy chunks, grunting and shielding himself. Shang patted off his shoulders then smiled at Kai mischievously. "It's really not funny." Kai scolded. Shang gave an evil grin, giggled and took a few steps towards him. "Don't Shang, I'm serious!" He squeaked, "I'm mad." Crossing his arms, the thin boy turned his head and looked down the alleyway they stood in, feral batcats eying them down suspiciously. Shang went to grab Kai's shoulder to attempt and push him back into the snow before Kai gripped Shang's wrist, "Shang! You're bleeding!" He exclaimed, pointing at the gash on his side.

Shang placed his hand on the wound and pulled away, crimson glistening on his palm, "Hm, you're right." His heterochromic eyes flicked left to right, "Well, I can't go to a clinic."

Voices could be heard down the alleyway and in one of the small streams that wound through the city, "The Sun and her boys were split up." A gruff voice exclaimed, "They say the boys landed some place around here and Twi wants them ASAP."

"Sir!" A female voice barked, "I have been informed that one of the boys hold the dog we've been waiting for. Twi wants the dog alive but cares nothing for the boy, eliminate them if need be."

The sound of scraping ice and footsteps could be heard, then silence, "Hmm, I see, and these are direct order from the Lunar Commander?"

"Yes sir! Twi has given them personally to me."

The man grunted in approval, "Alright men, we need to split up and search every single house in the city until we find these vagabonds, you understand?!"

Instantaneously Kai and Shang glanced at each other before taking off in the opposite direction of the voices, Shang wincing at the pain shooting through his side, "What do they want with Riishi or Raava or whatever?" Shang pondered.

Kai shook his head, "I have no idea but I do not have a good feeling about this at all." He glanced down at his bag which held the small dog, who was becoming increasingly lethargic, "I hope she's alright…" He thought aloud as they turned a few corners.

Shang wheezed, the cold air making his lungs ache and his side contract, "I-I can't run anymore," He uttered weakly, before sliding to a stop on the icy path. "Kai, find somewhere to hide with Riishi-Raava and I'll rest here."

Kai narrowed his eyes, "Why do you always expect me to let you sacrifice yourself for me? I might be useless, but I will not let my mistakes drag you down. I'll figure this out," his eyes scanned the small homes, "I may be weak, but I'm smart." He whispered to himself, a small smile crept onto Shang's lips.

Ulka's wooden sandals dragged on the ice as the Lunar soldiers carried her through the corridors in the walls, "Are you guys bringing me to my guest suite?" She joked, "My toes are a little cold, do you provide slippe-?"

"Shut your mouth." One of the men said, he had a burly, black beard and thick eyebrows to match. The soldiers' uniforms were all deep blue and fitted to their bodies with hard exoskeletons protecting their vitals.

"Alrighty, then Mr. Lumberjack. Have you finished cutting wood for the upcoming winter, I hear it's going to be harsh, don't want your family to freeze-."

"Shut up." The tired man grumbled.

Ulka's eye twitched, "So none of you have a sense of humor? That's cool."

"Be quiet."

Air sucked into her fiery hot lungs, "I swear to god if you tell me to be quiet one more fu-."

"I am going to ask you one last time to stop talking."

Ulka's gold eyes widened in disbelief as she glared up at the man, her skin beginning to steam, " _Okay_." She spat then looked at the other man holding her, he was young, probably 18 or 19, only a few years older than her. "Yo, you go to school?" She asked.

The boy had piercing blue eyes, he glanced down at her then up at the lumberjack, then back to her. He nodded slightly and looked nervously at the man.

"Ohhhh I see, this guy must be an asshole." She said looking at the older man who stared back at her, his dark eyes twitching with irritation, "What? Am I bothering you? Are you mean to this young man?" She asked, looking at the boy with sincere empathy. The men stopped at a door, "Alright, so is this where Twi is? I really need to speak to my spiritual comrade I-."

"You will not be seeing Twi at all until your execution." The older man mumbled apathetically.

"Execution?! What?!" The door in front of them opened into an enormous chamber that looked like a wooden zoo habitat. Thick wooden planks criss crossed leaving small checker patterns everywhere, the floors and walls were lined with a waxy substance and large, turquoise crystals dotted the room. The chamber was completely exposed to the outdoors, the large holes created by the wood allowing wind and snow to blow in at any time. The door was about 10 feet above the ground, there was no ladder leading up, the only place to go was down. The men quickly unlocked her hands from the restraints and pushed her over the edge into the colossal room. She screamed and landed on her side, knocking the wind out of her, her scream squeaking into nothing. "Wait!" She cried out hoarsely. The older man had already walked away, but the young man glanced over the side, "Why am I being executed?" She wheezed.

The young boy looked behind him then replied, "I think it has something to do with your powers, if you die, Emperor Twi will gain more power or something. I really don't know, I'm sorry I'm not more help."

Ulka's nostrils flared and she sat up, her chest clenching, "That's all I needed to know, thank you… What's your name?" She asked.

The boy checked behind him again then looked down with a smile, "Lonak, you?"

"Ulka. Now go before you get in trouble." She said waving him off. She stood up and brushed her butt before turning to look around the cell. There was no way she could touch the ceiling., there must have been acres of land in the giant cell. Ulka walked around on the permafrost dirt, letting her fingers graze over one of the crystals, which made pain shoot up her arm. "GAH! What the hell?!" She exclaimed, pulling her hand back in alarm.

"If you're a bender, those things will definitely hurt ya'." A smooth voice said from behind her.

Ulka whipped around, putting her fist up in a fighting stance, "Who the hell are you?' She asked, tightening her fists. A boy who looked about her age stood in front of her, his eyes were yellow, almost the same color as hers.

His pale face lit up with a small smirk, his shoulder length black hair blowing over his shoulder, "I'm Zhan."


	10. Book 1: The Camps

The boys had finally found a small inn to take shelter in. It was small and made in the traditional water tribe way, completely out of ice and animal pelts. The inside was… rustic and the floor squished with every step, the warm fireplace making the frosty dirt into mud. A little old woman sat behind the counter, reading a newspaper and smoking an old pipe, the smoke smelled sweet yet fishy at the same time. Next to her sat a young woman in her twenties whose face was sharp and stunning. "Excuse me ma'am." Kai said softly.

"Excuuuuse _me,_ ma'am," Shang said, eyeing down the younger woman, giving her a wink. The young woman looked up from the scarf she was knitting and giggled. "Ya' know, I'm an ai-."

"Minor! He's a minor, only 16, sorry!" Kai interjected, smiling at her innocently.

The woman's face morphed into one of pure disgust before she stood up and flipped her jet black braid over her shoulder, "Hmph!" She pointed her nose up and stormed into the back room.

Shang stared daggers at Kai, "Anyways, we need a room for two." Kai said with a sweet smile.

The old woman chortled and put down her tea-stained newspaper, "Oh, boys! I don't sell rooms to fugitives, then you're on my records."

All color drained from Kai's face before looking up at Shang who stared, jaw dropped, "H-How did you-?" Shang stammered.

"Heh heh! Young men, there are wanted posters of you youngins posted all around the city, they knew you were coming weeks in advance thanks to the media!" She chimed.

Kai felt tears well up in his eyes, _No, no, no! Don't cry, you always cry, stop crying._ He thought to himself as he discreetly tried to wipe his tears away, acting like he had an itch, "So wha-at are we going to do?" He asked, his voice cracking in the middle of his sentence, making him blush beet red.

Shang shook his head, "I dunno, she'll just have to turn us in or we can run." He looked up at the woman who stared at them with tiny beady eyes, "Please don't tell anyone we were here." He pleaded.

The woman let out a chortle again and slapped her knee, "of course I won't, but you sure can stay the night!" The boy's' eyes widened and their faces became puzzled. The old woman leaned in, and so did the two others, "Listen, I have a barn in the back where I keep my turtle seals, it isn't no five star suite, but it's a place to stay hidden for the time being." She looked back and forth between the teens, "Deal?" They nodded with relief, "And I will turn you in immediately if you try to hit on my granddaughter one more time you little rat!" She growled, grabbing the newspaper and whacking Shang on the back of the head.

Shang groaned and followed the tiny old woman as they made their way to the backyard, "I'll be back with food in about 30 minutes, you guys just hold tight for now." The small barn was painted light blue on the outside and had double doors leading inside, "make yourselves comfortable." The old woman closed the doors and left a small lantern in the room. Little turtle seals snored on piles of hay and gravel, their whiskers twitching while they dreamed of fish in the sea.

Shang sat on a pile of hay and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. Kai sat next to him, doing the same. "That girl sure was something." He said looking down at Kai, giving a wink. Kai rolled his eyes in reply. "C'mon, you don't find her attractive, just a little?!" Kai snorted with laughter and rolled onto his side, facing away from Shang, "Hmph, I wonder if we'll find our true loves on this journey, huh?' He said with a chuckle, turning on his side to face Kai, "Aang and Katara did! So did Korra and Asami!" He exclaimed.

Kai turned to face Shang, "Well, if you're implying that you want me to fall in love you with you, I'm out of your league." Kai teased.

Shang made a kissy face and reached out for him, "Oh Kai, my true love, seal it with a passionate kiss!"

Kai put his hand to his heart and sat up, turning away, "No! For I love someone else."

"Who?!" Shang exclaimed dramatically, "Who could take you away from me?!"

Kai put the back of his hand up to his forehead and tilted his head, "It was… _THE INNKEEPER_!" He declared with an exaggerated sigh, before falling down into the hay.

Shang gasped and clasped his hand over his mouth, "Whyyyyyyy?!"

"Because I make damn good food." The old woman said as she walked in with two bowls of hot, steamy stewed sea-prunes. Kai's jaw dropped and both of the boy's eyes were the size of dishes. "Eat up before it gets cold." She said with a wink to Kai, making him blush and cover his face. The old woman cackled and closed the doors, "Goodnight, my love!" She called as she walked back to the inn.

The two boys looked at each other before cracking up, tears welling in their eyes. Once they calmed down they began to eat their soup, "The seals are actually cuter than I thought they would be." Kai said, his mouth full.

Shang nodded, "Yeah. They kinda look like cats." He commented.

Kai stopped eating for a moment and looked down at his bowl, "Do you think Ulka's okay?" He asked, rubbing the rim of his bowl with his thumb.

Shang let out a huff of laughter, "Of course she is! This probably isn't her first time in prison." He said eating a prune, his nose scrunching up. "This is actually kind of disgusting."

Kai shrugged, "I like it." He replied softly. Shang lowered his bowl to Riishi, letting the tiny dog lap up the soup. _I hope Ulka is being fed._ Kai worried to himself.

Ulka attempted to unthaw the frozen bread over the fire blazing out of her fingertips, "Really, they give us shit like this?" She grumbled, shaking her head, "Assholes." She looked around at the people who had gathered to sit by her, they all wore tattered clothing and had weathered expressions and caved in cheeks. when she had been dropped onto the floor a short while ago, she didn't realize she would be sharing the cell with 20 other inmates. She glanced over at the boy who sat next to her chewing small pieces of the crusty bread, warming the loaf in his hands which glowed red. "You're a firebender?' She asked, shoving a small piece of bread into her mouth.

Zhan nodded, "Yeah, I was raised on the outskirts of the fire nation capitol, my parents were industrial workers in a ChiWatch factory." He said, pulling his long hair back into a ponytail, "How about you where are you from?"

Ulka stared back at him with fiery eyes, "I don't know. I grew up in the spirit wilds in the Earth Nations or Republic Nations or whatever you wanna call 'em." She looked to the small circle she sat in, "Who are you people? I'm Ulka." That was her sweet way of introducing herself.

A woman sat with a small girl in her lap, she had short brown hair and dark green eyes which lacked any sign of life, "I am Noka, and this is Lily."

"I'm eight!" Lily exclaimed, her eyes were a lighter shade of green and her hair was pulled into a messy poof atop her head.

The woman had dark skin which was riddled with scratches, "We come from the Earth Nations, a small village near historic Ba Sing Se." She said, a small smile on her lips at the mention of her home, "I was arrested for trying to cross into Northern Water Tribe territory with my husband, who was a war hero. They took him away and arrested my daughter and I. We've been here for 7 months now." She held the girl tight to her.

Ulka nodded and sighed, "That's some crazy shit, man." People continued to introduce themselves, a small man with glasses named Viacko from Republic City who was sent to investigate the lunar army. Another woman named Jigme who hailed from the Eastern Air Temple, but was a non-bender, she was arrested for trying to report on a claim of human rights being violated by the Lunar Commander: Twi. Ulka glanced over at Zhan who stood up and brushed his pants off before strolling away. "Ulka?" Viacko squeaked in his nasally voice. Ulka raised her eyebrows in silent recognition. "If you're the Sun, then you must be powerful." Ulka shrugged. "I saw on the news a video of someone bending the lava of a volcano back into the volcano, but it couldn't have been Avatar Kai!"

Ulka stared at them with a blank expression, "Yeah, that was me." She said. Ulka might be cocky in a battle, but she hated to brag outside of a fight.

" _People who brag are total dips, if you brag, that means you're probably sub-par." Ulka explained to Liuka when she was younger, "I will never brag after a battle, it's tacky, and I'm not tacky."_

Though Ulka had broken that statement once or twice, she tried to stick to it as best she could. The people sitting before her gasped and smiled in delight, "That means you can get us out of here!" Jigme exclaimed with glee.

Ulka scratched her head and laughed nervously, "Uhh, I'll have to think about it I guess, I'm not a very good strategizer." She said standing up and beginning to back away, "I'm gonna go… Uh, sleep." She said, scuttling away from them behind a crystal. Heart pounding and palms sweating she looked over to see Zhan looking at her with a mischievous grin. "What're you looking at, Rapunzel?" She snapped.

Zhan snickered and stepped forward, "Rapunzel? I like that."

"I bet you do." Ulka retorted.

Zhan gave a small huff of air out of his nose, "So, Ulka, you really were the one who bent a whole volcano?"

Ulka pursed her lips and sighed, "I am the Sun after all, it's not that impressive if you think about it, and it's not like I just bent the lava back in, I chucked it over to the other side."

"Alright, alright, you're modest I get it, but I think you're immensely powerful. Without you, I couldn't do this." He said, holding out his hand, a flame hovering above his palm.

"If you can bend, why don't you just bend out of here?' Ulka asked suspiciously.

"Why don't you?"

"Because I'll kill everyone in here if I try."

Zhan nodded and shrugged, "I suppose. But the real reason I haven't tried is because this isn't any ordinary wood, look." He dragged his finger across it and held up it, a cloudy residue stuck to his fingertip, "They cover it in heat resistant wax, and earthbenders can't really bend wood, airbenders? Pfft, they couldn't cut this if they tried."

Ulka glared at him, her face twisted with anger.

"Wh-What?" Zhan asked, startled.

Ulka walked past him, "Shut up, I'm thinking." She grumbled, slinking over to a corner and leaning back on the wall, closing her eyes.

Zhan walked up and sat down next to her, allowing about 10 minutes of silence before asking, "So, how old are you?" He asked, eying her up and down.

She opened one eye and shot him a death stare before closing her eyes, "I'm 16, you?' She asked with an apathetic tone.

"I'm 17." There was a long pause before Zhan took in a deep breath, "Will you help me?" He asked, sliding over to sit right next her her, his leg brushing against hers.

Ulka's eyes shot open and gave him a menacing stare, making Zhan scoot over a tiny bit, but he was still close, his face only inches from hers, "What do you want?" She hissed.

Zhan's yellow eyes flickered with enthusiasm, "Let's break out of this place." He said with a grin, his perfect white teeth exposed by his pale lips curving up.

Ulka's tanned face relaxed slightly at seeing him smile, "You're crazy." She said, grinning as well, showing off her sharp canines.

"I know, I know, but listen, I was thinking ever since I saw your golden hair when you fell down here, I knew it was you, I knew it was the Sun. Together, we should figure a way out. This is my idea," He leaned in a little closer, his porcelain skin glowing in the small patch of moonlight that illuminated their corner, "That door you fell out of is metal, the only thing bendable in this whole room. If I can find someone to pull a piece off of that thing and i melt it, can you bend it?' He asked, practically shaking with excitement.

Ulka sighed and pulled her knees to her chest, "I dunno man, I've never tried bending metal before. I'm no earthbender, I can only do lava, I can barely pick up a rock let alone bend one, that's what the Earth Spirit is for." She muttered, "I feel like this is high risk for something that I don't even know is possible or not."

"That's how I live, baby, high risk lifestyle." Zhan teased.

"I really didn't think you were annoying until that moment." Ulka said, the sarcasm in her voice barely recognizable, "If you weren't a firebender I would've completely rejected you, but since you are one of my spiritual responsibilities I guess I'll help you." She said with a smirk.

"Oooo I'm your spiritual responsibility?' He joked, raising an eyebrow.

Ulka's face turned cold and she just stared at him blankly, "Be quiet." She looked up at the moon through the wooden slats, "I hope Kai is okay…" She whispered.

Zhan looked at her, puzzled, "Kai? The Avatar?"

"Yeah… I keep forgetting the media exists… I assume nobody knows who he is yet, he has no powers. I'm just worried, he could die and then we would be without an Avatar. He's with Shang, but that idiot raises his likelihood of dying." Her voice had no hostility in it, even when she insulted Shang, her eyes filled with affection as she thought of her two friends. "I have never had any friends until those two bastards came around. The spirits brought us together, I met Kai in the spirit wilds, where I live." She looked over into Zhan's eyes, her demeanor soft now, like a normal teenage girl, "It just so happened he had a dog with him, the dog contained the spirit of Raava. The dog-... The dog. Oh shit… If that dog gets hurt… The world will be thrown into chaos. UGH!" She exclaimed, clamping her hands onto the sides of her head, flames flying out of her fists, their color deep red. "We're so screwed…"

Zhan put his hand on her shoulder, pulling away quickly as his skin sizzled on her burning hot skin. "Agh! The more reason to get out of this place." He said, wincing as he held his stinging hand.

Ulka was silent for a second, "Hm. Fine. We will break out tomorrow night, get somebody to pull a piece of metal off that door." The two emerged from their corner and approached the other group of prisoners, but as they got closer, they saw three guards standing by barking orders at the prisoners. "Yo! What the hell is going on here?" Ulka roared, making the men's heads snap over into her direction.

The men smirked and looked at the prisoners, "We were about to make them go out for their nightly work."

Ulka looked at the starving inmates and narrowed her eyes, "Even the kid?"

"Work is work." The guard growled.

"Bullshit."

"So I guess you wanna do it all." The man snarled.

Ulka shrugged, unfazed, "Sure. What do I care?"

The men's eyes widened and they looked back and forth with each other in disbelief for a moment before becoming full of rage. "Fine then!"

Zhan grabbed Ulka's arm and gave her a concerned look, Ulka shrugged him off, "It'll take me like two hours, tops, and it will save these hungry people from having to go out in the cold." She said, annoyed, "Now shut up and talk to them." She said. The guards snatched her away from Zhan and dragged her out the door, "Let go! I'm not gonna try anything!" She spat, tugging her arms away.

"Th-Thank you Ulka!" Noka called out, "You are truly strong!"

The guards led her to a giant cliff of glacier ice, the cold bit her face, making tears roll down her cheeks, but her fire inside kept her slightly warm, "Your job is to chop up this ice, here's your pick." The guard tossed down a pick onto the frozen ground, "Now, get to it." He growled, shoving her with his boot as she bend over to pick up the pick.

Her face hit the icy wall, making her nose throb, "UGH! Asshole…" She grumbled. The guards walked back to the fort where they kept watch while she worked in the dead silence of the night. Snow constantly fell around her, falling straight to the ground, some pieces dancing around each other in a graceful display. The moon shone overhead, it was almost full, "Sh-Sh- Shit… Twi's g-gonna be st-r-rong." Ulka stammered. Her body trembled as she continued to hit the ice. She was in nothing but a thin kimono, and with no time to meditate her root chakra, there was no way she was getting her heat back. As she hit the ice, she shuffled over to an angle, as far as her chains would reach, to watch the towers above. The guards didn't seem to be very diligent in watching, though they would definitely see her if she ran. Plus, she had no intention of abandoning all of the innocent people incarcerated in that hellhole. Ulka stopped for a moment and planted both of her bare feet into the snow, she honed her inner earthbender and felt for the stone deep beneath the permafrost. She began to hit the ice again, the sound of her pick echoing off the walls of the fortress. She stopped again and attempted to find rock. Her eyes shot open, "Bingo…" She whispered.

"It sounds mighty quiet down there!" A guard mocked, "Are you tired yet?!"

"Not even close!" Ulka retorted. She continued to crush the ice, with more gusto. She had to make herself move, she had news of abundant rocks beneath the frost that could easily be pulled up and utilized.

She grinned as she continued her work, the saliva on her gums freezing over, but she just couldn't stop smiling at the thought of getting out and kicking some Moon ass.


	11. Book 1: The Escape Pt 1

_Author's note: I am so so so so sorry for the extreme delay in posting! College is one hell of a drug and is kicking my ass. I'm going to try to finish this first book by the end of January so I don't leave anyone hanging._

 _Thanks for reading!_

 _~KindredVeggies (AKA: Caroline)_

Big whiskers tickled Kai's cheek making his eyes flutter open. "Ugh…" He groaned, shielding his eyes with his forearm. His dog laid in his bag and Shang slept next to him. "Psst, Shang." He whispered, shaking his companion. Shang gurgled, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, and flopped over onto his stomach. A turtle seal waddling over and slowly pulling its way onto Shang's limp body.

Shang groaned, "Kai, get off me… _Kai_." He rolled over and was met with a wet lick, " _KAI?!_ " He screeched throwing the seal off of him. Kai cracked up, holding his stomach and falling back onto the ground, "Oh god it was just a seal."

Kai stuck his tongue out and walked towards Shang, "I see you're dreaming about my tongue."

" _Shut the hell up_!" Shang wailed, covering his ears and jumping up like a child. Kai sprung up and chased after him in the hay, Shang whining at him while Kai's tongue flopped up and down with every step.

Suddenly, the door flew open, making cold air burst in. The innkeeper slammed it behind her, "You must run!" She wheezed, handing them their coats and two seaweed rice balls, "Take these. The Lunar Army is searching dangerously close to here. You must sneak out the back." She said, pointing to the small window.

Kai looked worriedly between Shang and the innkeeper, "But…" He cut himself off and realized his tongue was still hanging out of his mouth, he pulled it back in with red cheeks and smiled foolishly at the innkeeper who looked unimpressed, "How do we get to the palace?"

The innkeeper pulled a small notepad out of her pocket and drew a rough sketch of the city. It was circular with a giant square in the middle, "In the center of that square is the palace, but beware, once you enter the square, there are many more Lunar Army members. That is where all Lunar Army members and their families reside. Lord Tui considers the warriors as a national treasure." The elder tore the small sketch out of the pad and handed it to Kai, her grip tightening when he grabbed it, her eyes met his. Her aged skin detracted nothing from the sparkling azuline centers. "Avatar Kai…" Her raspy voice whispered, "Everyone on Earth believes in you, you will make humanity proud."

Kai's eyes widened as he felt the familiar sting of tears. "Thank you," He squeaked. The old woman wrapped her frail arms around him, then hugged Shang, "Most importantly, don't get me caught or I'll find you boys and beat you till you're prune pudding, ya' hear!" Kai and Shang went rigid and nodded their heads vigorously, "Now get going! It was a pleasure to meet you." She turned and walked into the crisp morning.

The boys looked at each other before shimmying out the back window into a small alleyway that was behind. Carefully they ran, weaving in and out of different alleyways. Their breaths produced small clouds that floated above their heads like tiny trains. They Finally arrived in the square, "Man, these boots are killing me." Shang griped.

Kai rolled his eyes, "Focus, we need to look as innocent as possible and maybe nobody will notice us…" The two pulled their furry hoods over their heads and walked towards the palace that towered over the old-style water tribe homes. The ornate walls had intricate patterns carved into them, containing seal turtles, polar bear dogs, and enormous sabertooth moose-lions. Warriors were carved in, fighting various beasts and competitors. Kai felt his heart leaping in his chest, "Maybe Ulka will be in there."

Shang laughed, "Damn, I hope so!" He stopped and rubbed his toes, "These boots are _killing_ me, I swear."

Ulka walked back into the cell, being pushed by the feisty guards. Her feet felt hard, she had lost feeling in her toes fairly early into the night. She slowly made her way over to the other inmates, her feet shuffling on the hard dirt. Everyone rushed to her side and began to treat her, she was shivering and could barely speak. She felt the sun, Roj, dying inside her. The doors swung open and a stream of guards flowed in surrounding Ulka, pushing all other inmates aside. "Ulka, the sun, you are sentenced to death in 12 hours!" A large man with a handlebar mustache barked, his blue, beady eyes glistening in Ulka's direction. Ulka shrugged.

Shang and Kai approached the ornate palace, Kai looked towards Shang, "Should we knock?" Shang held up his fist, but the door slowly began to creak open. Riishi let out a little a yelp and snuggled down into Kai's bag.

"Spooky." Shang teased, lifting his eyebrows. Kai smiled, but his insides were in knots. As they stepped into the icy lair, a large throne came into view. The throne was even more complex and extravagant than the outer walls of the frozen palace.

In the giant throne sat a skinny boy, no older than Ulka, dressed in traditional water tribe garb. "Hello, Kai." The boy stood and made his way down to their level, "I'm so glad you could make it." The boy was thin and pale, his shocking, blue eyes pierced through the boys. His sharp eyebrows narrowed, "I thought you brought the spirit of Raava with you, but I suppose I was wrong."

Kai shakily stepped forward, "N-No!" He stammered, "I have her. We just need Ulka to be free-."

Tui held up his hand as his eyes widened, "Give me the dog, or else you die."

Kai's jaw dropped, "What!?" Tui's arms suddenly flailed in an almost insane display, water whips coming at Kai from all sides. Shang stepped up next to Kai and formed an air dome, knocking away the whips and pushing Tui back. "What the hell is your issue, Tui?!" Kai screeched.

"Don't address me in that way , you non-bender _peasant_." Tui spat. Shang lifted both his eyebrows and looked at Kai in bewilderment as Kai did the same to him. Tui suddenly burst into laughter, "If you're both _really_ that dense, I'll explain to you." Shang slowly lifted his hand to Kai's chest and pushed him to stand behind him, his tall, toned body shielding Kai's scrawny self. Kai looked up at Shang with big, brown eyes and rested his hand reassuringly on his friend's back. "Listen, you dipshits, _I_ am the Moon. I am Tui, my counterpart is La, push and pull, in and out, high and low."

"Wow, you're so good at antonyms." Shang mocked.

Tui's angled eyebrows twitched in frustration, " _SHUT UP_!" He screeched like a toddler, his voice cracking a bit. He wiped his hand across his forehead, "As I was saying, my counterpart has not been seen since the spirits were put in the physical world, she has disappeared without a trace and once I find her, she will join me. We will be a waterbending duo more powerful than any other spirit on earth or in the spirit world… except for one…" Tui stepped forward, making Shang tense up, "That's where you come in, Kai. You have Raava, and it would be an absolute waste to put her into your weak body. So! I will gladly take Raava into my own hands and fuse with her, this way, I can use the Avatar's connection to all spirits to find my counter part. But wait! There's more." Tui's eyes widened to an impossible size, "I'm going to kill Ulka, and fuse with Roj, the sun spirit, then I will find all other incarnated spirits on earth and fuse with them as well, after I kill their human forms, of course." Shang glanced uncomfortably at Kai, who gripped the bag with his dog in it tightly. "Now, Kai, push your little bitch aside and give me Raava." He said, holding out his hand, "I assure you, if you give me Raava, you will become one of the richest, most worshipped non-benders on the planet. Sound good?" Tui took another step forwards, "C'mon." He squeaked, his eyes twitching.

Kai frowned and shook his head, "What you're doing is wrong, Tui. I can't give you Riishi."

"Riishi?" Tui's face twisted into a puzzled glare.

"Yes, Raava is my dog, Riishi." The tiny white pup popped its head out of the bag and growled at Tui.

"You've got to be fucking with me." Tui said, his eyes sparkling with amusement with was quickly overcome with a freezing rage, "Give me that dog." He growled, lunging forwards.

"Kai, hide!" Shang ordered. Kai fled, his boots slipping on the icey floors. He skidded behind a small wall that had shelves full of scrolls. He peeked over as Shang and Tui bgean to brawl. Shang attempted to fend off the copious amounts of water whips that came flying towards him. "How are you controlling so many at once?!" He asked, exasperated.

"I'm the moon, you idiot. Look to the sky."

Shang glanced up to see that the sun was already setting, giving way to the full moon. "What-?"

"Winter is coming fast. Soon, daytime will not exist here."

Shang's eyes widened as he felt his stomach flip with panic. Suddenly He felt a heavy blow to his back. The bitter wetness permeated through his clothes, making him shiver as he wheezed, attempting to capture his breath again. "Don't lose focus," Tui teased, lifting a finger, sending a heavy stream of water straight under Shang's jaw, snapping his head back and sending him flying. He slid on the snowy floor and coughed, curling up into a ball before standing, he glared at Tui who just giggled, "Awww, don't look at me like that~." He cooed.

Shang let out a roar of rage and launched three blades of wind at Tui who easily dodged two and destroyed the third with a wall of water which he sent towards Shang soon after. Shang attempted to back up but the water caught his foot and froze, travelling up his body, the ice squeezing his neck, making him squeak. "Shang!" Kai cried out.

Tui shot his glare over to Kai, "Well, hi there. Now I have two toys to play with, hm?" Kai felt water wrap around his ankle. He pushed Riishi into one of the shelves and quickly said, " _Stay_." Before his body was violently pulled out from his hiding spot, making his scream. Tui held Kai before him by the ankle, hanging him upside down.

"Kai, Kai, Kai. You are just _too_ cute, wouldn't you agree?" Tui said, smirking at Shang, who glare back, "I asked you a question." He hissed, ice shards forming out the ice encasing Shang's body, pressing against his neck.

"Don't hurt him…" Shang squeaked.

"Puhhah!" Tui let out a loud cackle before looking to Kai, "He doesn't think you're cute… What a shame." Tui brought Kai close to his face, staring into Kai's upsidedown eyes, "Good for you, I think you're adorable." A water whip quickly squeezed around Kai's neck, "I'm sure you'l look even cuter _frozen_." Kai's panicked gasps were followed by small puffs of vapor that floated high into the now dimming sky. "Now, where is the dog?" He cooed.

Kai stared at him with a stone cold expression.

"Tell me… Where. Is. The. Dog?"

While Kai remained silent, Shang was slowly cutting his way out of the ice. Watching Tui closely. Suddenly Tui glanced over as a shard of the ice fell and shattered on the floor, "Be more careful you dumb shit." He hissed as he moved to send a water whip at Shang. Kai reeled back and put his fist right into Tui's sharp jaw. Tui stumbled back, dropping Kai who wriggled on the ground before attempting to scramble away. Tui roared in rage while holding his jaw. As Kai ran away, needle sharp icicles trailed right behind him, only missing him by centimeters.

Shang burst out of the ice and ran at Tui, "The only one who needs to be more careful is you, Tui." Shang growled.

"B-Be careful!" Ulka gasped as Noka warmed her feet. "I have news. Good news that can help us."

Zhan sprinted up to her and fell to his knees beside her, "Ulka! Are you alrig-?"

Ulka cut him off with a swift glare, "Shut up. Listen." Zhan did. "There is rock deep deep in the permafrost. If we have an earthbender here they could pull it up, we could melt it, and I can bore right through the these wax covered, wooden walls." She looked at Noka who continued to gently massage Ulka's feet. "Noka, do you know any earthbenders here?"

Noka glanced around and cleared her throat. "N-No."

"Why did you stutter?" Ulka snapped.

"I-I'm no-... I didn't mean to."

Ulka's eyes seared into the woman.

"I uhh... "

"This is going to help us get you out of here. Do not lie to me. This is life and death, not just for us, but for the entire world. If we don't get out of here and Tui kills the avatar… Well, there's no point in escaping because we're as good as dead."

Noka squeezed her fists tightly. "Mommy…" Noka's eyes widened as she stared at her daughter who broke the silence, "It's okay Mommy." She said in her sweet voice.

Noka nodded, "I didn't want to risk the safety of my daughter by telling anyone this… but even though she's young, Lily is an earthbender. And she's extremely strong." She smiled at her daughter with pride, "Just like her father."

Ulka looked at the child, "Can you feel it? The stone? It pulls at your feet doesn't it? That connection, your chi in your stomach churns with excitement when you feel it, doesn't it?" Ulka leaned forwards and so did the girl.

"Y-Yes…" She whispered, "I can feel it shake every time I walk..."

Ulka put her hand on the girl's shoulder, "Stand and feel it. Make it feel you. Make it connect with your feet."

Zhan furrowed his brow, puzzled. He observed the small girl as she took her shoes off and stood on the cold, hard ground. She closed her eyes and held her hands out, her palms facing the ground. She pulled her elbows into touch her stomach and balled her tiny hands into fists as her feet spread into the classic earth stance. Her wide position suddenly lurched as she pushed out her fists and and pushed up into the air making the harsh metal they stood on creak. A small lump appeared beneath the smooth platinum floor, making a pimple in the dull surface. Ulkas eyes widened, the power of this child was something from the pre Korra era.

The child's stance lowered even further as she flexed her thin, tawny arms. She let out a tiny grunt as the blemish grew larger before rock burst from below the metal. "Yes!" She breathed before falling to her knees and wiping her forehead.

Ulka stood and grinned, "Kid, you are one _hell_ of a bender."

Ulka put her hands on the stone. "Zhan." She barked. She didn't even have to tell him what to do. He knelt and put his hands on the rock with her. The rock began to heat up, the red glow turning orange then turning yellow. Zhan began to sweat while Ulka's tanned skin remained glowing with heat. "I got this now." Her voice softened as she focused on the steady stream of lava she began commanding from the rock. The orb floated above her hands as she sprinted over to the wooden wall and began to work on its waxy surface. The wood smoked and the wax sputtered as the lava cut a big enough hole for someone tiny to crawl through. Ulka bent down to look at it and smiled. Her prideful smile was cut short by guards bursting through the door ten feet above the enclosure, "HEY!" The man with a handlebar mustache barked. "What is that hole in the floor?!"

Ulka peered out from behind the crystal she was behind, she was in the clear for now. She continued the hole as Zhan hissed for her to hurry up. Ulka shot his a silent glare. The hole expanded to where any adult could squeeze through tightly. All the prisoners were starving anyways so it wasn't a huge feat to cut a hole big enough for them. Ulka heard Noka wail "Wait!" Before peeking around and seeing the two guards making their way down into the enclosure. "Perfect…" She snarled with a demented happiness in her eyes, "Zhan. Follow my lead, we're breaking out of here, firebender style." She said as she patted him on the back. The sound of the soldier's boots stopped and that was Ulka's cue to beat the shit out of them. Fire exploded from behind the crystal she hid behind. The soldier's yelled, startled. Ulka came running out, her hands flaming, her arms glowing red. She moved at an impossible speed, fire beneath her feet propelling her forwards. She spun in a pinwheel of fire before delivering an unforgiving kick right to one of the guard's face. The young guard yelped and fell to the ground unconscious. Ulka shot a barrelling flume of fire at the other guard, knocking him back into a crystal, the air leaving his lungs and his eyes rolling back. "Noka. Gather everyone and get them out the hole I created within ten minutes. Then run as far as you can for as long as you can."

Noka nodded and grabbed Ulka's arm before the teen had a chance to walk away, "Please, take this gift. My husband gave it to me," The woman held out her brown hand, shaking, "It is a traditional earth kingdom armband." Ulka took the band from the woman, it was a deep brown leather wrapped in green leather. On it was a jade amulet with the symbol of the earth kingdom, and a message was stamped into the leather ' _Darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light._ ' Ulka quickly put the band on her toned bicep and hugged the woman and patted Lily's head.

"I will always remember you. Protect your mother, one day she will be your everything." She looked the two females in the eyes before nodding in thanks, "Now quickly get everyone out." Ulka looked o Zhan who also nodded. The two ran to the door before using fire beneath their feet to launch themselves into the door that was ten feet above the pit. They were met by a clog of guards in the narrow halls of the fortress. "Don't hold back, Zhan, the world is on the line." The duo lunged forwards, fire engulfing the hallway. Soon, they had broke free of the prison and found themselves standing in the darkness of the night in a snowbank that overlooked the prison. "We made it." Ulka said brightly, her white teeth glistening in the light of the moon. "Zhan-. Hey, what's wrong?" Zhan stood with his head bowed and his long hair whipping in the frigid wind, "Is this the first time you've been out? I get i-."

"No. I'm a liar," He interrupted, Ulka stared, confused. "Zhan isn't my name." Ulka lifted her eyebrows. "My parents weren't ChiWatch factory workers… My name is Ozai." Ulka's eyes widened and her body went rigid. "My name is Prince Ozai of the Fire Nation, and I'm the heir to the throne. Ulka, let me help you, I can use the forces of the fire nation-."

Ulka closed her eyes and hung her head, a small mutter escaped her lips, "Leave."

"Ulka please-."

Her head snapped up and her eyes flung open, flames took their place "LEAVE!" She bellowed in a voice that was not her own, but the deep voice of the sun, Roj, "The Fire Nation is no friend of mine. You all have abused my powers for evil and oppression and I will never forgive you for such an injustice. Time has no meaning when it comes to the death of thousands and a war that lasted a hundred years! Those one hundred years of torment to my soul, those one hundred years of pure hatred that pulled all my strength. Your namesake… Your namesake destroyed my trust. The Fire Nation is no ally of mine _Ozai_." Roj spat. "Now leave or I will kill you like I should've done to your namesake two hundred years ago."

Ozai trembled at the voice of the powerful sun. He nodded, speechless before running, "I will serve you no matter how you feel about me!" He yelled with a bow before disappearing behind the snowdrifts.

Roj looked back through his vessel's fiery eyes, "Let's do what is right. Shall we, Ulka?"

Suddenly, the gruff, girlish voice of Ulka broke through, "Let's." The consciousness of Ulka disappeared and submitted to Roj. Roj held Ulka's hand out, lifting her hand up slightly making the earth rumble like an earthquake. The ground beneath the massive prison began to glow. Ulka lifted both her hands, and with the power of Roj, Lava spurted out of the ground, engulfing the prison in a fiery tornado of melted rock before the tornado collapsed and pulled the prison underground to a fiery demise. And in less than a minute the entire prison was gone. Ulka suddenly snapped back and let out a fiery breath. She looked to the center of the city, and began to run.


End file.
